Cooper Industries

History

Cooper Industries was founded in 1833 by brothers Charles and Elias Cooper. The company started as a foundry located in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and was initially called the C&E Cooper Company. Cooper's initial product offerings included plows, hog troughs, kettles and stoves. By the mid-nineteenth century the company was concentrating on steam engines.

As the use of steam power declined in the late 1800s, Cooper again shifted its focus, this time to gas engine technology. By the time the 20th century arrived, Cooper Industries had become the American leader in pipeline compression engines, products that enabled the development of the growing oil and gas industry. This period was also highlighted by a merger with Bessemer Gas Engine Company, yielding Cooper-Bessemer.

In the 1940s, Cooper-Bessemer played a role in the U.S. World War II effort, supplying engine components that powered almost all of the ships in the Navy's minesweeper fleet, as well as the famous Liberty Ships, which carried 75% of the cargo used by Allied armed forces. After the war, Cooper-Bessemer again embarked on an effort to diversify itself in a changing world economy.

As the company looked to increase its product portfolio, Cooper expanded its offering into electrical products, electrical power equipment, automotive products, tools and hardware. A detailed history of the expansion in the 1950s through early 1980s is given in Keller 1983, a history commissioned by the company for its 150th anniversary. Acquisitions in the 1980s included Crouse-Hinds (1981) and McGraw-Edison (1985).

In the last decade of the 20th century, Cooper underwent a period of portfolio rationalization, reducing its exposure to more cyclical industries such as automotive and petroleum. Ultimately, Cooper emerged focused on the two business segments that remain in the portfolio today – Electrical Products Group and Energy and Safety Solutions. On May 23, 2002, Cooper Industries Inc had completed reincorporation in Bermuda from Ohio.