Wix Filters, Gastonia, N.C., has renewed its emphasis on heavy-duty filters with an aggressive research and testing campaign and intensive training of its sales force on the heavy-duty market.
When the company decided to reposition itself as a major heavy-duty filter player, it performed a benchmark study of its five top-selling filters against the corresponding filters from the competition. They found with the exception of one or two processes, they were No. 1 or No. 2 in every category. Weaknesses found during the study were fixed. “If you’re going to put emphasis on heavy-duty filter products, you better understand where you are in the marketplace from all kinds of perspectives, such as quality, design, structure and performance,” says Senior Technical Service Manager Chris Greeson. The study, he says, “shows we are a significant player in the heavy-duty market.” Wix is also educating its sales force in the heavy duty market, putting them through an intensive five-day course at company headquarters. There, they learn about topics such as capacity versus efficiency, how filter efficiency is measured, the pros and cons of different types of filter media, new diesel engine emissions regulations, the importance of oil analysis, the care of cooling systems, and the newest filter products, such as the XD (Extended Drain) oil filters designed to work with the October 2002 diesel engines. The timing may be right for the move. Greeson notes that when times get tough, the filter business actually grows, because people tend to take care of and maintain older equipment rather than buying new. Wix actually started out in heavy duty filters back in 1939 in the agriculture market. Founder Jack Wicks was one of the first in the industry to envision spin-on filters rather than cartridge filters; the company was the first to patent such a filter in 1954. Today, more than 70% of the parts numbers Wix offers under the Wix, NAPA, and Carquest brands are actually heavy-duty filters.
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