IAX Intl Absorbents

FERNDALE, Wash., April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- International Absorbents Inc. (AMEX:IAX), a leading developer and producer of environmentally-friendly pet care and industrial products, today announced that it has greatly strengthened its marketing efforts with the addition of Chris Jacobs as Director of Business Development for the Company's newly created Business Development Division. In his capacity as Director of Business Development, Mr. Jacobs will assume responsibility for all non-fluff bedding products. He will be charged with identifying, proving and growing the Company's non-bedding business opportunities with the goal of diversifying the product line and greatly increasing sales potential through penetration of markets complementary and additional to the Company's prime market of small animal bedding (fluff). Mr. Jacobs, who holds a MBA from Cornell University, brings to the Company over 11 years of relevant experience in the consumer goods industry, specifically in the areas of strategic planning and innovation and product development. Most recently, as Director of Marketing with Johnson Outdoors, Mr. Jacobs led all aspects of brand strategy for the turnaround to profitability of a $100 million division by expanding the product line and taking the brands into new market categories. In doing this he developed and imported new expertise then coordinated the work flow to build and distribute the new product lines. In addition, he worked with the production, engineering, sales and customer service teams to identify and solve problems resulting in a dramatic reduction in the number of SKU's and an increase in on-time deliveries. The overall result was revenue growth in a declining market and significantly increased profits for the division. Prior to this, Mr. Jacobs was Senior Brand Manager at Unilever Bestfoods. Commenting on the hiring, Gordon L. Ellis, Chairman of International Absorbents Inc. stated, "Our Company has had limited success in expanding its product offerings outside of small animal bedding. We recognize that this has been a shortcoming, have formed a new division to specifically focus on new business development and are bringing in the expertise to make it effective. The Company must expand outside the small animal bedding segment to continue growing in the longer term. The hiring of Chris is our first major step towards making sure that we are successful in this objective." International Absorbents Inc. develops, manufactures and markets patented and proprietary, cost effective consumer and commercial products derived from recycled, renewable materials. These environmentally safe products outperform conventional products used in a broad range of consumer and industrial applications, including retail/commercial pet bedding and litter, oil and hazardous liquid spill cleanup and control, oil/water filtration, and packaging. Further information is available at http://www.absorbent.com/. Contact: Charles (Chuck) Tait International Absorbents Inc. Toll Free: 866-514-6559 or 604-681-6181 A number of the matters and subject areas discussed in this press release that are not historical or current facts deal with potential future circumstances and developments, including without limitation, statements referring to the Company's future growth strategies, prospects for the future, potential financial results, market and product line growth, abilities to enter new markets, ability to introduce new products, benefits from infrastructure improvements and the Company's competitiveness and profitability as a result of new sales and marketing programs, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "assume" and "anticipate," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The discussion of such matters and subject areas is qualified by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally, and it is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected, due to various risk factors. Those risks include, but are not limited to contractor performance, newly installed equipment performance, weather related construction issues, consumer acceptance of the Company's products at a new location, competitor reactions and their ability to market and price their products, general economic conditions outside of the control of the Company, and the economic availability of sources of raw materials to meet demand rates necessary to sustain growth. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward- looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the Company's annual report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2004 and its quarterly filings on Form 10-QSB. This press release speaks only as of its date, and the Company disclaims any duty to update the information herein. **If you have received this news release in error (via email or fax), please call toll-free 1-866-514-6559 to be removed from the Company's news release distribution list(s). DATASOURCE: International Absorbents Inc. CONTACT: Charles (Chuck) Tait of International Absorbents Inc., Toll Free, 1-866-514-6559, or +1-604-681-6181, Web site: http://www.internationalabsorbents.com/

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