What does the YKK stand for on my zipper?

Yo Matt:

What does the YKK on my zipper tab stand for? Company logo, material, brand...what?

-- A concerned fly-opener (and -closer), San Diego

Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha. Roughly:Yoshida Company, Inc. Tadao Yoshida started making zippers in Japan in 1936. He quickly realized he'd either have to make something larger or abbreviate his company name if he wanted it on the product. Hence, YKK. They're now global zipper czars. Intergalactic closure kings. If it zips, snaps, buttons, hooks, or smushes together like Velcro, YKK makes it. In Macon, GA, zipper mecca of America, YKK makes 7 million a day. Their Mexico plant will make 10 million. Sez the corporation, "We make enough zippers every year to stretch from Earth to the moon." Well, guys, if you can send a zipper to the moon, why can't you figure a way to close up the ozone hole? Well, anyway, if you're walking around with stuff gaping open and other stuff flapping in the breeze, you sure can't blame YKK.