Henry Clay Warner was a lubrication engineer for Gulf Oil when he became aware of the need for filtration equipment in some of the applications he encountered. He founded H.C. Warner, Inc. in 1946 in his garage in Jacksonville, Florida. A graduate of the University of Florida, H.C. was an offensive tackle (at 5'10", 175 lbs.) and a champion wrestler. His youngest son Bill took over H.C. Warner, Inc in 1966. H.C. entertained swimmers at the "Y" by doing handstands on the diving board when he was 66 years old until the lifeguards kicked him out.
