Equinox commenced in 1993 following a grant from Telstra (Telecom) to develop a pilot plant to make cat litter from out of date telephone directories.

Telstra had a need to responsibly dispose of significant quantities of waste paper annually.

This need gave Equinox an opportunity to give Telstra a high profile in a consumer market for its recycling.

Process Development

In July 1993 a site was chosen at Virginia Park, East Boundary Road, East Bentleigh in Melbourne.

An entity was founded, Equinox Manufacturing Industries Pty Ltd, with 4 individuals.

The plant was established during the latter half of 1993 with all equipment sourced being second hand and drawn from all facets of manufacturing- plastics, food and mining.

Equinox commenced production in 1994 with its first product, Light & Easy Cat Litter, being accepted by a major Supermarket chain.

Our main competitors had produced clay based litters from mining operations, the used cat litter contents are then disposed of into the rubbish bin, ending up as local landfill, compared with our product which can be disposed of as garden compost.

Our product, as are most of the other organic litters, is light in weight. Our product has a bulk density of 0.18, clay based cat litters vary from 0.8 - 1.

Company Organisation

Equinox remains a small Company.

We are currently undertaking the following:

1. new capital is being introduced to enable Equinox to grow.
2. an expansion in the number of products that the Company produces, including complementary pet products but not solely cat litter.
3. An expansion of the Company's R&D division, headed up by a very well qualified and experienced researcher.
4. the establishment of a specific marketing division headed up by an experienced marketeer.

The Company has a very experienced Board and a small experienced and dedicated staff of 7 with casuals employed as required.

Australian Pet Market Overview

1. 12 million Australians are associated with pets.
2. 64% of Australia's 7.5 million households own pets.
3. Australia has one of the highest incidences of pet ownership in the world.
4. 91% of pet owners report feeling very close to their pet.
5. In 2003 sales of pet food and pet care products were worth approximately A$1.6 billion, a growth of 4.5% over the previous year.
6. Estimated number of Australian households with pets:
• Dogs 2.8 million (37% 0f households).
• Cats 1.7 million (23% of households).
• Dogs and/or Cat 3.9 million (52% of households).