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Healthy Pet Welcomes New Hires & Roles for 2024 Growth

FERNDALE, WASH. (April 12, 2024) - With an eagerness to continue sustainable growth and a commitment to continuous improvement, Healthy Pet is pleased to announce the appointment of two key professionals to our team in Jesup, Georgia; as well as a new role for Pete Gietl in Ferndale, Washington.  Angela Runyon has been appointed as the HR Generalist, and Jessica Carter joins as a new position, Plant Controller. Both individuals bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their respective roles, and their addition further strengthens excellence in human resources management and financial stewardship.  As the HR Generalist, Angela (Angi) Runyon will oversee various human resource functions, including recruitment, employee relations, training and development, and compliance. With her extensive background in HR management and her proven track record of implementing strategic initiatives to enhance employee engagement and organizational culture, Angi is well-positioned to contribute to the continued success of Healthy Pet. Angi holds a degree from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, along with additional HR certifications. She and her husband are from California and have four daughters and two dogs: Hershey, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and Cocoa, a Cane Corso. She is proud to be Navy Veteran’s wife, and has loved living all over the world. She loves spending time with her family going on walks, bike riding, and hiking together. She also loves cooking and baking. Angi will be based in Jesup, Georgia and report directly to Natalie Pacheco.  Joining as the new Plant Controller, Jessica Carter will be responsible for managing financial operations at the plant level, ensuring accuracy in costing, reporting, supporting budget, and integrating financial literacy into all aspects of our operations. With her strong background in financial management, data- driven analytics, and love for working with people, Jessica is poised to play a vital role in optimizing organizational performance and supporting Healthy Pet’s strategic objectives.  Jessica holds a BS in Accounting from Troy University in Alabama and brings with her 20+ years of experience in Finance, 9 of them as a plant controller. She loves working with people and helping to solve problems. Jessica is married with 4 children, cats, a dog, chickens, turkeys, ducks and quail. She enjoys arts and crafts, reading, woodworking and animals. Jessica will be based in Jesup, Georgia and report directly to Mike Watson. We are also pleased to announce that Pete Gietl has stepped into the role of Operations Improvement Specialist in Ferndale. This move is a testament to Pete’s dedication, hard work, and the expertise he has demonstrated in his time with Healthy Pet. In this new role, Pete will focus on several key areas critical to our operational excellence and efficiency.  Key responsibilities include: Documenting Processes, Ensuring Data Consistency, Implementing Controls and Standardizing Reports.  Pete will also continue to be our facility coordinator, ensuring safety and compliance related to the Ferndale facility.  This role also reports to Mike Watson.  We are confident that Pete will excel in this new capacity, bringing about significant improvements in our operations. His role is pivotal to our strategic goals of enhancing efficiency, ensuring quality, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.  "We are thrilled to welcome Angi and Jessica and excited for Pete's new role", said Ted Mischaikov, CEO.  "Their skillsets and expertise will be instrumental in advancing our HR, financial and operations management functions, ensure long-term sustainability and ultimately contributing to our success as a leader in the pet products industry."
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Healthy Pet Announces Ted Mischaikov as Chief Executive Officer

FERNDALE, Wash. , June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthy Pet, the pet industry leader in sustainably sourced absorption substrates, has announced the appointment of Ted Mischaikov as chief executive officer (CEO) effective May 28, 2023.  The appointment of Mischaikov marks his return to the company as CEO, a position he held from 2011 to 2020. Upon Mischaikov's departure from Healthy Pet in 2020, he served as the executive chairman & CEO of the Primal Pet Group during a period of rapid growth and acquisition. "We welcome Ted back to the Healthy Pet team. Based on his extensive experience with our brands, production and his commitment to sustainability, we are confident he will drive growth and expand our industry-leading products, which enrich the lives of pets, their people and our planet," said Healthy Pet Director of Sales Kelly Rogers. A decisive leader with proven management success across multiple industries, Mischaikov will be responsible for the global growth of Healthy Pet in support of its parent company, J. Rettenmaier & Sons, a world leader in natural fiber technology for over 140 years. "JRS enjoys a strong relationship with Ted, and we are pleased he has returned to again lead Healthy Pet," said JRS Director of the Americas Nils Gersonde. Throughout his career in the pet industry, Mischaikov has demonstrated decisive leadership driving excellence in manufacturing, adoption of new technologies and the promotion of sustainability initiatives, making him a natural fit to lead Healthy Pet as it expands into new substrates, expands facilities and acquires strategic assets. "Healthy Pet is a future-focused company developing performance-based sustainable products, which consumers are demanding. The world wants 'healthier clean' products, and we have the technology and resources to deliver them. My objective is to work with our team and ownership to deepen and diversify our leadership in sustainable solutions for the global pet industry," said Mischaikov. Healthy Pet excels in manufacturing next generation, sustainably sourced products, including ökocat natural cat litter and carefresh responsibly rescued small animal bedding. ökocat creates plant-based, biodegradable litter that is cleaner and healthier for cats, families and their homes, while carefresh is the No. 1 brand of small pet bedding, made from scratch using 100% reclaimed natural fiber.
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ökocat® Natural Litter Introduces New 100% Recyclable Packaging

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Bringing home your new small pet: best care tips for hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits & more

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