WIX Filters Marks 75th Anniversary in 2014

WIX Filters will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2014 with a marketing program focused on customer engagement and backed by seven decades of industry leadership in aftermarket and original equipment design.

“Our focus today is the same as it was when we were founded in 1939 – to provide our customers with premium quality filters designed to exceed their performance demands,” said Keith Wilson, president of WIX Filters, who has led the company since 2000.

“We are proud of our nearly eight decades of growth and innovation, and our focus on product development has made the name ‘WIX Filters’ synonymous with a rich tradition of excellence,” Wilson said.

WIX Filters was founded in an old cotton mill in Gastonia, N.C., in 1939, when Jack Wicks and his business partner, Paul Crenshaw, needed an inexhaustible supply of pure white cotton thread waste for the filtering media of their new company. At the time, Gastonia and Gaston County produced more combed cotton yarn than anywhere else in the world.

Wicks and Crenshaw soon saw a need for filter replacements that would simplify the filter changing process and, within 15 years, they turned the filter market upside down with the invention and patent of a spin-on oil filter design – known at the time as “twist of the wrist” – that quickly became the industry standard.

“The spin-on filter was among a small handful of parts in our company’s early years,” Wilson said. “We have more than 45,000 unique part numbers today produced in manufacturing facilities on four continents. This is quite a legacy for Jack Wicks and Paul Crenshaw, and I am one of the many stewards of this legacy as we celebrate our 75th anniversary.”

WIX will mark its historic year with a specially designed 75th anniversary logo that will be featured on many of WIX’s 2014 promotions and sales materials, including an extensive lineup of sales promotions designed to increase customer sales, raise brand awareness and connect customers with experiences involving their love for racing and the WIX brand.

“Our promotions emphasize customer engagement in 2014 and will be supported by point-of-sale materials and other marketing communications elements to drive sales and brand awareness for auto parts stores and distributors,” said Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters.

Highlights of WIX’s 2014 promotion schedule include the WIX Filter Sale Day promotion, specialized, hands-on training sessions through the WIX Institute of Filtration Technology and the popular WIX Hummer H2 mobile marketing unit.

WIX is also rolling out a die cast of one of the most recognizable American cars – the 1939 Ford Deluxe Coupe – in 2014 as part of its collectible die cast collection. The collectible is captured in 1:18 scale die cast replica, complete with a custom paint scheme and vintage 1939 North Carolina license plate detail to commemorate WIX’s 75th anniversary year.