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This article originally appeared at: NorthJersey.com.

Company tries its luck with new horseshoe
Friday, May 23, 2008

BY KEVIN G. DEMARRAISSTAFF WRITER

Just as a University of Oregon track coach revolutionized the design of running shoes — and created a Fortune 500 company in the process — Gary Kouletas has come up with a design he thinks could change the world of horseshoes.

Kouletas has created what he calls "a true orthopedic device" for racehorses, and he's hoping to ride that invention to financial success.

The shoes have been five years in development, and this week the company — Saddle Brook-based Hybred International Inc. — got a big boost when it completed a reverse merger with Temporary Time Capital to create a public company. Its stock is traded over-the-counter as HYII.

That gives more financial stability to a company that has relied on outside investors; now, it's a matter of selling the shoes.

The Hybred is designed "to allow fluid movement, traction, shock absorption, and as a therapeutic alternative to traditional shoeing methods," Kouletas said.

Hoof injuries are the No. 1 problem in the equine industry, accounting for nearly 90 percent of all potentially serious injuries to horses, he said.

The company's timing in taking its product to market comes, coincidentally, within weeks of the injury that resulted in the death of Eight Belles immediately after the 3-year-old filly finished second in the Kentucky Derby.

Kouletas said he never would make a claim that his shoe could have prevented that particular injury — but, he said, it can eliminate injuries in other horses.

"Within the equestrian industry, unfortunate recent losses and injuries opened the door for a broader discussion on the need for a greater investment in preventative-measure products needed to address the subject of hoof care and lameness," Kouletas said.

Hybred will have lots of competition in the horseshoe market, but Kouletas thinks it has an edge over others due to the fact that its shoes are designed so that farriers can put them on using traditional tools and shoeing methods.

"Today, we have it to the point where it's a marketable product," he said.

"Everything is ready to start production. We've been producing on a sample basis for the past year to get all the kinks out, and we're ready for mass production to begin in the next month or two."

Financial projections, which Kouletas calls "very conservative," aim for $5 million in sales by the second or third year.

The potential is vast, with 9 million horses in the United States and 50 million in the world, Kouletas said. To reach their owners, Hybred has a marketing agreement with Thoro'Bred Inc., the nation's biggest aluminum horseshoe manufacturer.

Thoro'Bred will manufacture the aluminum part in California and ship the shoes to a plant in upstate New York, where the rubber will be bonded onto it, said Gene Sawyer, vice president of Anaheim, Calif.-based Thoro'Bred.

The two companies will work together on sales and distribution, with Thoro'Bred carrying the Hybred in its sales catalog.

Although there are similar shoes on the market, the Hybred received a lot of positive reaction at a recent trade show, Sawyer said.

Because the shoe is not yet in widespread use, "we don't have the true information yet," he said. "But in the preliminary testing, everything is good."

The Hybred is a result of trial and error, starting with an original design using ground-up tires.

"That didn't work well, because we couldn't get a consistent result," Kouletas said.

On other attempts, he had trouble getting proper bonding, but eventually he came up with the right combination of urethane and aluminum.

The final product includes a polyurethane molding which, when attached to an aluminum horseshoe, becomes a shock absorber. That protects the horse's hooves and joints from deterioration caused by running on hard surfaces such as concrete, asphalt and racetracks.

Kouletas has a patent pending on the design.

In one way, the longtime Bergen County resident is following in the footsteps of William Bowerman, the Oregon coach whose experiment with a urethane mix in 1971 led to a change in the basic construction of running shoes and to the formation of Nike.

Kouletas, 32, is a horse-racing fan, but has no formal training in chemistry or metallurgy.

"You learn it as you go," he said.

"I always had ideas to make these products, any kind of product, to invent, to try to come up with a new way of doing things."

A resident of Hasbrouck Heights, he grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, but has lived most of his life in North Jersey, graduating from Hasbrouck Heights High School.

An entrepreneur at heart, he previously owned a bagel shop and a pest-control company, among other ventures.

Just as a University of Oregon track coach revolutionized the design of running shoes — and created a Fortune 500 company in the process.

On other attempts, he had trouble getting proper bonding, but eventually he came up with the right combination of urethane and aluminum.

The final product includes a polyurethane molding which, when attached to an aluminum horseshoe, becomes a shock absorber. That protects the horse's hooves and joints from deterioration caused by running on hard surfaces such as concrete, asphalt and racetracks.

Kouletas has a patent pending on the design.

In one way, the longtime Bergen County resident is following in the footsteps of William Bowerman, the Oregon coach whose experiment with a urethane mix in 1971 led to a change in the basic construction of running shoes and to the formation of Nike.

Kouletas, 32, is a horse-racing fan, but has no formal training in chemistry or metallurgy.

"You learn it as you go," he said.

"I always had ideas to make these products, any kind of product, to invent, to try to come up with a new way of doing things."

A resident of Hasbrouck Heights, he grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, but has lived most of his life in North Jersey, graduating from Hasbrouck Heights High School.

An entrepreneur at heart, he previously owned a bagel shop and a pest-control company, among other ventures.


Original Article: http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/19202364.html?c=y&page=2