YKK – The Story Behind Our Zipper
As you might already know, Faire Leather Co. sources the highest quality materials for our products - from our choice of leather right down to the zipper. All our products like the travel leather accessories, slim leather wallets, leather tech organizers and luxury travel bags feature YKK zippers, which I have always heard of sparingly during my teenage years (having always seen them on pencil box cases and school uniforms) but never actually paid much attention to. It had never occurred to me that this was a renowned international household name when it came to zippers and fastening products, so I went on to find out more about their history.
YKK, or short for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki gaisha, was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1934. On top of making quality zippers, they also produce other goods such as architectural products, plastic hardware and industrial machinery. Its founder, Tadao Yoshida, was an innovative and experimental man who after finding a lack of satisfaction in zipper production methods at that time, decided to design his own customised zipper machine. His do-it-yourself attitude was influential to the company – YKK today handles every aspect of the production themselves; such as making their own metals and cloth and even the boxes that they ship their products in.
Over the years, YKK has been credited with many revolutionary designs such as zippers that do not show teeth. As of today, YKK dominates the entire zipper industry and produces more than 7 billion zippers a year, which is estimated to be almost half of the zippers in the world.
They are a household name because they can be relied upon and it is no wonder that they have been around for more than 80 years. Their zippers don’t break and get stuck, which as we all know, can be very annoying. With them on all our products, a smooth and secure zip is always guaranteed.
“Of all the things that tax a man’s patience, there’s nothing to compare with a stuck zipper.” - Anonymous
Syafiq