Page 55 - MYM 2015

transition from a sash manufacturer to a window manufacturer. This represents an all-new business model never seen before in Japan.
Through the window business, YKK AP has supplied high value-added window products and provided general consumers with information about improved insulation ef ciency in accordance with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s window insulation ef ciency labeling system. It has also brought added peace of mind to customers through its long- term quality assurance guarantee. On top of this, YKK AP has established a logistics system that can directly deliver nished products to the construction site. In
this manner, YKK AP is actively engaging in the window business while working hard to capitalize on the value generated from this new business model.
During the process of seeking new approaches to windows, YKK AP has continually enhanced design, performance, and functionality by engaging in both the sash business and the window business. This comes after it had established itself as a window manufacturer following success in the separate window glass and sash businesses. Although there was opposition
from assembly manufacturers about this change,
YKK AP became a pioneer in Japanese windows with its technology development and vision for creating better living environments. The change in name of
one of its business enterprises from “construction materials,” which includes even raw materials, to “AP” (architectural products), re ects a shared sense of purpose and a commitment to continue as the industry leader in windows into the future.
“Windows are a form of culture and civilization.” This phrase expresses my longstanding ideology about windows. From region to region, the types of windows used vary based on the lifestyles of the people who live there. Windows contribute to better living. This means that not only does every window have a story to tell, but that windows have the power to transform architectural spaces and the power to make our
lives more comfortable. YKK AP will continue working
to expand the possibilities for these products that
are such an integral part of our lives. Through its business of windows and doors and other architectural products, YKK AP is helping to push the development of architectural culture, and in so doing, contributing to the betterment of society as a whole.
Value Creation in the Fastening Products Business
The YKK Group’s other core business is Fastening Products. In the eight decades since it was founded,
YKK has pursued the integrated production and marketing of fastening products. Today, it supplies a truly wide range of fasteners to customers for countless applications. These include fasteners for luxury brands, mainly in Europe, that demand aesthetics and high class design touches, fasteners for high performance sports apparel companies and industrial materials, such as automotive seats, in the United States and Europe, fasteners for fast fashion in China and other Asian countries that demand a large selection and reasonable prices, and fasteners for domestic demand sectors in emerging markets that focus on price. This demonstrates the shear diversity of YKK’s customer base. Additionally, using its proprietary technologies, YKK has developed fasteners for use in space suits (pressurized suits), the thermal curtain for the H-IIA rocket, the culvert for the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, tanks for transporting milk, shing nets, and even the bags used in bagpipes, demonstrating the truly unlimited potential of this segment. In this manner, YKK is unique in that it focuses on fastening products but also provides value by customizing orders based on the philosophy of “one to one marketing.”
YKK customers include local companies in the approximately 70 countries and regions where it has operations, as well as multinational corporations that manufacture and market their products globally. YKK supplies fastening products based on the philosophy of “manufacturing and selling close to customers.” The company’s locally rooted business model involves being among the first to expand to textile industry locations and set up shop next to textile factories to provide localized solutions through one to one marketing. Overseas business models are
considered more effective when producing goods in countries and regions with low labor costs, but YKK does not share this belief. YKK’s overseas expansion began in New Zealand back in 1959, and later it aggressively expanded in Europe and the United States during the 1960s. At the time, the cost of labor was overwhelmingly higher in Europe and the United States than Japan. In other words, it would
mind I55 your
marketing