History of the YKK AP

Jul. 1957

Yoshida Shoji Co., Ltd. (now YKK AP Inc.) established in Nihonbashi Bakuro-cho, Tokyo.

Nov. 1959

Aluminum casting and extrusion work begin at the Ikuji Plant (currently Kurobe Plant) in Toyama.

Nov. 1961

Manufacture and sales of interior aluminum products and spandrels begin.

1962

Manufacture and sales of alminum window sashes for commercial buildings begin.

Apr. 1966

Manufacture and sales of alminum window sashes for wooden residential buildings begin.

Feb. 1969

Manufacture of various sash parts begins.

Mar. 1971

Manufacture and sales of entrance doors, sliding doors, and storm doors begin.

Feb. 1972

Operations begin at the Shikoku Plant in Kagawa.

Apr. 1974

Operations begin at the Tohoku Plant in Miyagi.

Feb. 1975

Operations begin at the Kyushu Plant in Kumamoto.

Dec. 1975

Manufacture and sales of exterior products (balconies, roof decks, etc.) begin.

May. 1976

Our first overseas affiliate, YKK Industries (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (now YKK AP SINGAPORE PTE LTD), established.

Aug. 1976

Operations begin at the Ekko Plant (currently Kurobe Ekko Plant) in Toyama.

Sep. 1983

Manufacture and sales of vinyl sashes begin.

Jul. 1984

Manufacture and sales of insulating glass begin.

Sep. 1986

First overseas plant with an integrated production system, YKK Almico Indonesia (now PT YKK AP INDONESIA), established.

Jan. 1987

Manufacture and sales of aluminum siding products begin.

Jan. 1988

Manufacture and sales of steel doors begin.

Aug. 1988

The Architectural Products Department at YKK (U.S.A.) INC. established.

Mar. 1989

AP Business Division in YKK TAIWAN CO., LTD., (now YKK AP TAIWAN CO., LTD.) established.

May. 1989

Formed a technical alliance with H.H. Robertson Company's CUPPLES Products Division in the U.S.A. for commercial building curtain wall systems.

Feb. 1990

The company is renamed YKK Architectural Products Inc. (abbreviated as YKK AP).

Feb. 1991

Manufacture and sales of interior architectural products begin.

Apr. 1991

YKK AP AMERICA INC. established.

Aug. 1991

Acquired all issued shares of Kawachi Aluminum Industry Corporation (formerly YKK AP Exterior Corporation).

Nov. 1992

YKK AP Group Installation Cooperative established.

Apr. 1992

Operations begin at the Namerikawa Plant in Toyama.

Jan. 1994

Changed the trademark of building material products from "

" to "

".

Aug. 1994

Changed the names of YKK AP Group sales and processing companies to include "YKK AP".

Jul. 1995

Operations begin at the Kurobe Ogyu Plant in Toyama.

Feb. 1999

The profile products business (now industrial products business) initiated.

Dec. 1999

YKK AP Hong Kong Limited established.
DALIAN YKK AP CO., LTD. established.

Oct. 2000

Pros Inc. (a subsidiary) established.

Feb. 2001

YKK AP (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD. (now YKK AP CO., LTD., China) established.

Apr. 2001

Merged YKK AP Group sales companies (except YKK AP Okinawa Inc.).

Feb. 2002

Agreed on business alliance with TOTO Corporation and Daiken Industry Co., Ltd. in the remodeling field.

Mar. 2002

YKK AP (SUZHOU) CO., LTD. established.

Aug. 2002

Merged 5 manufacturing subsidiaries: Tohoku YKK AP Industry Corporation, Kanto YKK AP Industry Corporation, Chubu YKK AP Industry Corporation, Hyogo YKK AP Industry Corporation, and Kyushu YKK AP Industry Corporation.

Oct. 2002

The company is renamed from "YKK Architectural Products Inc." to "YKK AP Inc." Became a wholly-owned subsidiary of YKK Corporation.

Dec. 2002

AP Business Division in YKK (CHINA) INVESTMENT CO., LTD. (currently YKK AP (CHINA) INVESTMENT CO., LTD.) established.

Oct. 2003

YKK's Architectural Products Manufacturing Group is integrated into YKK AP Inc. and the architectural products business of the YKK Group becomes a fully integrated organization.

Apr. 2004

Hokuriku PG Corporation (a subsidiary) established.

Jun. 2004

Unified the YKK AP brand and trademark worldwide.

Mar. 2006

The window business brand "APW" is launched

Apr. 2007

"Windowology", which is research activities to deepen our knowledge of windows, initiated.

May. 2007

Value Verification Center established.

Jan. 2008

YKK AP FACADE PTE. LTD. established in Singapore.
YKK AP (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD. (now YKK AP China Co., Ltd. , China) established.

Jul. 2011

Operations begin at the Saitama MADO (window) Plant.

Dec. 2011

YKK AP MYS. SDN. BHD established.

Mar. 2013

Acquired all issued shares of the remodeling company "Iwabuchi Inc.".

May. 2013

Acquired the business of Bhoruka Aluminum Ltd. (now Bhoruka Extrusions Private Limited) in India.

Jul. 2013

YKK AP FACADE VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED (now YKK AP VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED) established.

Oct. 2014

Acquired all issued shares of the Large-scale condominium renovation company "Ruxy Inc." (now YKK AP Ruxy Inc.).

Apr. 2015

YKK AP (THAILAND) CO.,LTD. established.

Apr. 2016

Merged 3 related subsidiaries: YKK AP Exterior Co., Ltd., Kyushu Exterior Kogyo Co., Ltd., and Hokuriku PG Co., Ltd.
"YKK AP R&D Center" established.

May. 2017

YKK AP R&D Center (Germany) established.

Aug. 2018

YKK AP R&D Center (Indonesia) established.

Mar. 2019

Partners Support Studio established.

May. 2019

YKK AP (CHINA) INVESTMENT CO., LTD. established.

Dec. 2019

YKK AP AMERICA INC. acquires all issued shares of Canadian curtain wall manufacturer Erie Architectural Products Inc.

Mar. 2020

Merged YKK AP (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD. into YKK AP (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD. and renamed it YKK AP CO.,LTD. (China).

May. 2020

YKK AP TAIWAN CO., LTD. established by splitting the AP Business Division from YKK TAIWAN CO., LTD.

Sep. 2020

Reorganized overseas AP business, and integrated capital relations and business operations of overseas affiliated companies into YKK AP.

Apr. 2021

Part of the YKK Machinery & Engineering Group is transferred and the Machinery & Engineering Department established.

Jun. 2021

Acquired all issued shares of the large-scale condominium renovation company Nitto Inc.

Jun. 2022

YKK AP Technologies Lab (NA) Incorporated established.

Jul. 2023

YKK AP Technologies Lab (NA) Incorporated establishes "xTech Lab".

Dec. 2023

Acquired Thailand-based curtain wall company, YHS International Ltd., and its related manufacturing company, Siam Metal Co., Ltd.

Jan. 2024

YKK AP Healthcare Inc. established.

May. 2024

Acquired all issued shares of the aluminum sash manufacturer Kanehide Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd. (now RYUKYU YKK AP INNDUSTRY CO.,LTD).
Business alliance with Kandenko CO., Ltd. for the development and promotion of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).

Jul. 2024

YKK AP (SHANGHAI) INTERNATIONAL TRADING CO., LTD. established.
The APW 651 sliding patio door, wooden windows with triple insulating glass, launched.
Acquired all issued shares of the greening and landscaping company "TERAYAMA Inc."

Oct. 2024

YKK AP (JIANGSU) CO., LTD. established.
YKK AP 30 Building completed.

Nov. 2024

YKK AP Technology Museum established.

Dec. 2025

Acquired all issued shares of the residential construction company "Shiki Koubou LLC".(now Shiki Koubou Inc.)