Wide variety of products

Pettex Pet Products was set up jointly by two families in 1959 and is now one of the leading suppliers of cat litter in the UK, with a current production capacity of 30 000 t per year. One of the strengths of the company, based in Hainault, Essex, is the wide variety of products it sells. Pettex Pet Products offers a full range of litter types including bentonite, sepiolite, paper, wood and also silicates, which in spite of a fall in demand are still popular with cat owners in the UK. With its extensive range Pettex is able to keep both price-conscious and quality-oriented customers happy, and this high degree of flexibility coupled with an impressive delivery capacity makes the company a key supplier to the British pet product trade. Managing director Steve Bolton is finding that there is high demand in particular for products made from wood pellets and paper, as these are much lighter than mineral litters and have a high absorption capacity. All the raw materials for these products come from the UK. The British cat litter market continues to be led, however, by products made from bentonite, which is mined for Pettex Pet Products in Cyprus and imported to the company's processing and bagging plant in the UK. Products made from sepiolite, which Pettex imports from Turkey due to its superior whiteness, likewise play a major role in the UK market. In addition to cat litter, the company supplies cat accessory products such as bowls, cat litter trays, litter scoops and also cat repellents for gardeners. Its range for small mammals includes a variety of straw and hay products as well as fibre and paper beddings. Pettex Pet Products also carries a range of different types of pond and fish food, aquatic rocks and gravels. The company, which employs 35 staff, deliberately restricts its operations to the UK market. Due to the high freight costs, the distribution of heavyweight products such as cat litter and aquatic rocks is not a viable proposition, Pettex managing director Steve Bolton told PET in Europe. Wide variety of products (download pdf-file)