This breakthrough ball launcher concept was designed by Aerospace Engineer Alex Richardson, now Operations Director at D-Style, who shares how his invention was born from a frustration shared by many dog owners. “We were really fed up with lugging a long and cumbersome ball thrower about and dealing with more than a little dog slobber every time we left the park. The inconvenience of carrying it around drove us nuts and we felt that there had to be a better way.” But portability was not the sole premise for the product. “By producing a telescopic shaft and a ball cup designed to release the ball with greater ease than most throwers, we were able to create a ball launcher that was simple and easy to use for all. Age and physical mobility shouldn’t impact your ability to play and connect with your dog”, adds Alex. Environmentally engineered from 100% recycled plastic off-cuts, the Kompact9 ball launcher is manufactured in Devon using injection moulding technology, where its parts are produced from recycled plastic pellets. But the green credentials don’t stop there – the drawstring hygiene cover is also made exclusively from recycled plastic bottles and the Kompact9 is even delivered to your door in a recycled or FSC regulated cardboard box. Karen Richardson-Scarfe, Managing Director at D-Style, says how creating a product that was ethically made and environmentally friendly was central to their vision. “When we embarked on our journey to revolutionise and reengineer the dog ball launcher, for us it was fundamental that the business should not negatively impact the environment and our product should be ethically made. Our supply chain has been devised to minimise our carbon footprint and recycle water during the manufacturing phase. We’ve even made sure that the label sealing the packaging is recycled which, believe it or not, was the hardest part to source.” The Kompact9 is on sale now priced at £17.50 and is available to purchase at https://kompact9.com/. For all wholesale enquiries, please contact the team at hello@kompact9.com E