How Japan's YKK built a better fastener and caught its competition in the teeth. Judging from its headquarters in a small nine-story building jammed in a row of similar buildings in an unfashionable ...

In early February, executives from YKK, the world’s largest zipper manufacturer, gathered in Kurobe, Japan, for annual budget meetings. Normally, these gatherings leave time for a bit of ...

For more than a century, the zipper has stayed more or less the same: two interlocking rows of teeth, a sliding pull, and the fabric tape that holds it together. It’s one of those inventions that ...

Margaret Mimbs was 26 years old when she began working at the YKK zipper plant in Macon. It was less than a month after the company and the community celebrated the grand opening of the $15 million ...

AUSTIN, Texas — When we seek closure, we reach out to the zipper. It keeps us warm, prevents things from falling out of our purses and lets us cram way too much into our suitcases. When it gets stuck, ...

“What does it say on your zipper?” I’m guessing YKK. Check now. Am I right? Depending on how we’re conducting this game, either you have to knock back a tequila shooter, or I do You can save this ...

Next time you zip up, or zip down, check out your zipper. There’s a good chance it’ll say YKK. But, what is YKK? I head to South Gate, California, to find out. At Koos Manufacturing in South Gate, ...

Few inventions reach such widespread use as the zipper. Odds are, you’re wearing a zippered garment right now. And yet—in its over 100-year-old history—it has received no significant updates. Until a ...

A strong piece of evidence in support of the many current calls to reshore American manufacturing is the tremendous performance by the many thousands of existing producers already working here. I ...

Is a redesign for zippers overdue by 100 years? Or are we trying to fix something that’s not broken? Few inventions reach such widespread use as the zipper. Odds are, you’re wearing a zippered garment ...