Jeans Pai Nai, Spotlight on Jeans Fashion
Zippers what the zip is it all about; Zip-fastereners business
The Invention
Invented in Chicano in 1893 by Whitcomb Judson and in it early stage was more a hook-and-eye shoe fastener, zip-fasteners did not come into general until the 1930s, when the zipper beat the button fly in the 1937, following the discovery that zippers made it easier for children to dress themselves. During that period they had campaigns praised zippers for promoting self-reliance in young. The first commercial production of zip-fasteners was when Whitcomb Judson started together with businessman Colonel Lewis Walker, the Universal Fastener Company to manufacture the new device.
Swedish immigrant and electrical engineer, Gideon Sundback was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company. He was responsible for improving the far from perfect early design of the 'Judson C-curity Fastener’. The patent for the 'Separable Fastener' was issued on 20 March 1917. (click here to see a copy of the original US patent) Sundback also created the first manufacturing machine for the new zipper. Within the first year of operation, Sundback's zipper-making machinery was producing a few hundred feet of fastener per day.
Production
The first Mass production manufacturer with global markets in mind was probably the YKK Company. In 1934, Yoshida Kogyo Kabushililaisha was founded. Sixty years later they changed their name to YKK Co. The privately owned firm, with headquartered in Japan, now is made up of 80 company’s representatives at 206 facilities in 52 countries.
Why we called it a Zipper?
The popular 'zipper' name came probably from B. F. Goodrich Company president Bertram G. Wrok, when they decided to use Gideon's fastener on his "Mystic Boot", which were rubber boots or galoshes, and called it the Zipper Boot.
Today, Hong Kong suppliers produce zippers by the millions, and fill global orders for zip-fasteners for items from delicate dresses to heavy-duty boots. Hang Sang Zipper Co Ltd, founded in 1986, turns out 10 million Oeko-Tex standard zippers a month. “We feature many different colors, including gold and silver, and also produce shine’ zippers in crystal, which are very popular, even for leisure wear,” says manager Edward Hung. “Among our famous customers are Woolworths and some top fashion labels.”
Raw materials come from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Australia, while production takes place at a 15,000-square-metre, 500-worker factory in Chinese mainland Shenzhen. The minimum order is 10,000 zippers per color and delivery takes about four days after order confirmation. Major markets are North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, Russia and the Middle East. The firm also has representative offices in the US and Australia.
Another zipper manufacturer is 26 year old Hing Fat Industries (Far East) Co. Ltd, which claims a quick delivery time as one of its competitive factors “We can make and deliver 100,000 zippers within 1-2 weeks,” says marketing executive Sam Yip.
The company also provides an “unsurpassed level” of produces and after-sales support and services for the garment and leather goods sectors, adds Yip. He says the company also continually upgrades its equipment, manufacturing techniques, capacity, scientific management and infrastructure.