Draft: Litter-Robot
Litter-Robot is a gravity-driven sifting automatic litter box manufactured and distributed by AutoPets based in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
History[edit]
The idea for Litter-Robot came in 1999 to mechanical engineer Brad Baxter after he inherited two cats and became frustrated with scooping their litter boxes. He sought to automate litter box scooping and devised a method using a rotating mechanism that would sift the litter using gravity.[1]
An existing concept had been patented in 1997 by Donald Reitz.[2] Baxter licensed the design and modified it to address issues like cat sensing and clump removal. He funded the first generation of the Litter-Robot with an investment from his parents.[3] Baxter sold the Litter-Robot online directly to consumers, and the business became profitable in 2005.[1]
Since the Litter-Robot launched in 2000, [4] the product has undergone three major upgrades. [5] An upgrade of the third model, released in 2017, [6] included WiFi connectivity and is the highest-rated self-cleaning litter box on the market. [7]
In 2019, Litter-Robot manufacturer AutoPets raised $31 million in growth equity financing from Chicago-based Pondera Holdings LLC.[1]
Litter-Robot launched as a direct-to-consumer product in the UK, EU and China in 2021, bringing its offerings to 10 countries worldwide. [8] Additionally, the product is sold in more than a dozen PetPeople retail locations.[8]
In 2021, the company increased its manufacturing footprint by 60 percent [9] while investing $9 million in its plant in Juneau, Wisconsin. [10] That same year, AutoPets appointed Tim Saeger, former executive at iRobot and Bose, to its board of directors.[4] The company has more than 300 full-time employees domestically. [10]
Reception[edit]
Good Housekeeping called Litter-Robot 3 “the best smart self-cleaning litter box.”[11] The product earned a “Paw of Approval” from The Dodo. [12] The Spruce rated it “excellent“ with 4.5 stars,[13] and it received a 93/100 rating from PureWow.[14] Wirecutter called it “the best automatic cat litter box,” but ultimately did not recommend it.[15]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "$31 million growth equity investment fuels expansion for maker of Litter-Robot cat box". Crain's Detroit Business. 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ↑ [1], "Automatic cat litter device and method", issued 1996-02-28
- ↑ ""I Invented That!"". Modern Cat. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "AutoPets Appoints Tim Saeger to Board of Directors". Cision PR Newswire. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ Pearce, Michael (2019-07-17). "Schmoozing with Jacob Zuppke". The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "The Self-Cleaning Robot for Cats Now Has an App". Cision PRWeb. 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ Century, Sara (2021-04-09). "Litter-Robot and Todrick Hall Team Up for New Music Video "We Don't Scoop"". Adweek. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Breen, Amanda (2021-06-16). "This Pet-Care Company Did for Litter Boxes What Steve Jobs Did for Cell Phones. Now, It's on a Mission to Become the Apple of Its Industry". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ Zagorski, Ed (2021-06-23). "AutoPets expands in Juneau". Watertown Daily Times. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Nagl, Kurt (2021-06-13). "AutoPets thinks outside the litter box with rebrand, rapid growth". Crain’s Detroit Business. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ Redmile, Lynn; Institute, Good Housekeeping; Forte, Carolyn; Institute, Good Housekeeping (2021-01-29). "7 Best Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes That Take the "Ick" Out of Cleaning Your Cat's Litter". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ↑ Howell, Sam (2021-06-07). "We Tried The Fanciest Litter Box In The World And It Changed Our Lives". The Dodo. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "Litter-Robot 3 Connect Review". The Spruce Pets. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ↑ Jan. 18, Sarah Ashley |; 2021 (2021-01-18). "I Won't Say the Self-Cleaning Litter-Robot Changed My life, but—OK, It Changed My Life". PureWow. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ↑ "The Best Automatic Cat Litter Box (But We Don't Recommend It)". The New York Times. 2021-01-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
External links[edit]
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