The interview conducted Violetta Kovács (author and journalist) with Julius Sebő (Inventor and Producer of JULIUS-K9®) 3.3.2008
Excerpts from the Interview:
K.V.: Could an invention like Julius-K9 Powerharness a pathway to prosperity? Or are you permanently confronted with problems during the company costs a lot of money?
J.: There are always problems. It is true that a thriving enterprise render a fasten wealth for owner and worker impossible. This was never my ambition.
K.V.: What was still your motivation?
J.: For me profit is important for safeguarding the future. I have never sigh for things I could never reach. For example I never know how much money we have for a certain date. So I disclaim everything we could not afford.
K.V.: But what is your aim?
J.: Oh, that is an important question. My daily drive ist perfection and aspiration after completeness.
K.V.: To be exact?
J.: We want produce perfect products within one’s means. It is a daily adventurous journey through a labyrinth of questions of organisations, technologies of products, questions of material and new problems. We constantly can produce better products. Financial security and our down-to-earthness allow us this constantly development of our harnesses.
K.V.: Do you had any financial backup? Every beginning is difficult, isn’t it?
J.: Retrospectively it seems impossible to me that our power harnesses developed out of nowwhere. We started with waste products. At that time we were only able to afford these prices.
K.V.: If you take a harness produced with today’s technologies is it possible to see waht is needed for production?
J.: This succeeded not overnight. I started development in 2000 but today’s quality was reached only just 2005. But still at that time our harnesses were used by specialist traders and police departments.
K.V.: Used by police departments?
J.: Yes, I created these harnesses especially for police departments exactly for police service dogs. A lot of dog trainers helped with development. I wanted to make good the conventional harness with name of the owner, of the club or the police department for better harnesses.
K.V.: You just copied the harness with old lettering?
J.: No, I have not. It was not just about copying but there were first letterings on the dog harnesses, that is true. These letterings could not modified or removed. The harness itself were either formally or statically suitable. I did not like these first old harnesses! Because I produced them and used them everyday my aim developing a better one became more distinctiv.
K.V.: …and did your product become better or just different?
J.: You can answer this question by yourself, if you look at the large popularity of the power harness today. This product is totally different to the conventional harnesses: form, proportions, chest harness that you can adjust with the hook and loop fastener, the handgrip is different and of course the lettering at the side which you can change.
K.V.: Could you please tell us how it started with the lettering?
J.: As I told you our product suddenly became popular and a fast-selling item. We got the approval for the use at service dogs from the austrian interior ministry. The power harness was introduced at the VDH-Show in Dortmund for the first time. There just must be ensured the decline and number of pieces for our Shop. Suddenly there was the idea to produce different letterings. At that time I was on the terrace with my wife Anikó. We had a lot of fun to create letterings like Hot Lady, Macho, Sexmachine, Girlpower, Hot Dog and many more. We visualized the dogs how they take a walk with these letterings. It was great and very funny.
K.V: Did you have any doubts about the success?
J.: We were convinced of the success. This good became just something good- as well as for humans and for dogs. We thought that a new communication can start between humans and dogs. The animal speaks! And this is funny for humans. Most of the human beings missunderstood the behavior of dogs and do not understand the communications of them. With that letterings dogs speak the language of human beings and there effect on people changes totally. We were very interested in this experiment.
K.V.: What do you think about the increasing numbre of pirate copies and plagiarisms? As I know your product is also made in China.
J.: Pirate copying is a worldwide problem. Der Ideendiebstahl ist leider eine Problem auf der ganzen Welt. Unfortunately human greed, envy and unscrupulousness know no limits. All big brands have the same problem and try to protct their products in different ways.
K.V.: How do you fight against this problem?
J.: We try to find the easiest solution: We produce the optimal quality.
K.V.: Did you ever thought about proceeding legally against those “thieves”?
J.: Yes, I already did. But thats a job for our lawyers. I am rellieved that steeling ideas and designs is illegal in europe. But I do not want to keep talking about that issue.
K.V.: I thank you for that conversation!
