Wix Filters

Company History: L.G. Alexander, the first president of WIX, once said, “A look back is helpful – if it helps us look ahead.” His sentiment is just as applicable today.

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

With 11 facilities in eight countries, WIX manufacturers more than 210 million filters annually and has customers in over 80 countries. We also have more than 3,500 employees globally, including 1,500 in the greater Gastonia area, and their daily passion and personal dedication help us make the best filter in the world.

But how did it all begin?

WIX Filters was founded in an old cotton mill in Gastonia by Jack Wicks and his business partner, Paul Crenshaw, who 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.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.