YKK has a famous philosophy; exactly what is it?
Mr. Yoshida called his philosophy the Cycle of Goodness. It means that “No one prospers unless he renders benefit to others.” According to his philosophy, Mr. Yoshida believed he must manufacture only useful, high quality zippers that would benefit, or enhance, the end-use goods in which they were installed. Since his product was a component in his customer’s products, and the critical moving part, he believed it would have to perform perfectly over a long period of time so that those end-use goods would last longer and perform better than others on the market. When they did, all involved would benefit. Because of this guiding principle, YKK became involved in vertical manufacturing. This means that YKK not only produces the zippers, but also the machines that make the zippers–and even many of the raw materials that go into the zippers–like the polyester and brass that make up the tape, teeth and sliders.
