Milestone Highlights Seven Decades of Growth, Innovation
WIX Filters, a global manufacturer of filtration products, is celebrating its 75th anniversary 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 a cotton mill in Gastonia, NC, in 1939, when Jack Wicks and his business partner, Paul Crawshaw, 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 Crawshaw 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 Crawshaw, and I am one of the many stewards of this legacy as we celebrate our 75th anniversary.”
WIX is marking its historic year with a specially designed 75th anniversary logo that was 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. The promotions will continue in 2015.
“Our promotions emphasize customer engagement in 2015 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 2015 promotion schedule include the WIX Sales Day promotion, specialized, hands-on training sessions through the WIX Institute of Filtration Technology and the popular WIX Hummer H2 mobile marketing unit, among other promotions.
For more information on WIX’s 2015 promotional calendar, contact your local WIX Filters district manager.
