YKK

YKK Corporation (YKK株式会社) is a Japanese manufacturing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is best known globally as the world's largest manufacturer of zippers, accounting for approximately 45% of the global market share. Beyond its core fastening products, the company also operates a major building materials division through its subsidiary YKK AP. The enterprise was founded in January 1934 by Tadao Yoshida, initially operating under the name San-es Shokai. Following a renaming to Yoshida Kogyosho in 1942, the business was incorporated as Yoshida Kogyo K.K. in 1945. The abbreviation YKK was first adopted as a trademark in 1946, and the company eventually changed to its current official name, YKK Corporation, in 1994.