- Cooper Industries
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Cooper Industries plc 
Type Public (NYSE: CBE) Founded Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA (1833) Headquarters Incorporation: Ireland
Operational: Houston, Texas, USAKey people Kirk S. Hachigian, CEO & Chairman Products Electrical equipment and tools Revenue 
US$6,521.3 million (2008)Net income US$632.2 million (2008)Employees 31,200 (2008) Website www.cooperindustries.com Cooper Industries is a former US-based company that in 2009 switched its incorporation office from Bermuda to Ireland, maintaining its chief operational offices in Houston, Texas. It produces transformers, tools and electrical equipment, employing 29,000 staff around the world. Revenue in 2007 was US$5.9 billion dollars.[citation needed] It is one of the oldest large companies originating in the United States, having been founded in 1833.
Contents
History
Originally the company had been a foundry powered by a horse, but bought its first steam engine in 1842 and was soon making its own engines. Incorporated in Ohio as The C. & G. Cooper Company in 1895, it obtained a new charter in Ohio in 1919 that lasted until reincorporation in Bermuda for tax reasons in 2002. The company was reincorporated in Ireland in 2009.
A leading producer of Corliss steam engines in the 19th century, it switched in the early 20th century to making compressors, and became the Cooper-Bessemer Corporation in a 1929 merger. Continuing diversification led to the name Cooper Industries being adopted in 1965.
In 1967 the company entered the hand-tool business by acquiring Lufkin Rule, a maker of measuring instruments, and subsequently added a large number of other hand-tool businesses. In the 1970s it entered aircraft maintenance, but subsequently sold off Cooper Airmotive. In 1979 it bought Gardner-Denver Company, extending its interests in the energy industry.
Acquisition of Crouse-Hinds Company in 1980 and McGraw-Edison in 1985,[1] as well as the buyout of Westinghouse's lighting division in 1982, made electrical products the largest part of the company, which has remained the case ever since. McGraw-Edison had been the legal successor to the old Studebaker and Packard auto companies and had some auto parts operations, and Cooper made additional acquisitions in that area including Moog Automotive and Champion Spark Plug, but ultimately sold its automotive operations to Federal-Mogul.
In the 1990s first Gardner-Denver was spun off and then the entire remaining Petroleum & Industrial Equipment segment was separated out as Cooper Cameron Corporation, including all remaining product lines from the company's first 134 years and more recent acquisitions in that area such as Cameron Iron Works. Cooper Cameron subsequently sold the Mount Vernon operations to Rolls-Royce plc, whose chairman remained a director of Cooper Industries.
On 8 September 2009, Cooper Industries was removed from the S&P 500 index due to the relocation of its headquarters to Ireland. On 10 November 2010, Cooper Industries plc announced its acquisition of Mount Engineering plc, a UK-based manufacturer of specialty threaded adaptors and reducers for harsh and hazardous environments, and Apex Lighting Controls Ltd, a private manufacturer of Energy Management lighting controls, also based in the UK.[2]
Divisions
Cooper Lighting
A provider of interior and exterior lighting fixtures and related products to worldwide commercial, industrial, retail, institutional, residential and utility markets.[3]
Cooper B-line
A manufacturer of support systems and enclosures for the electrical, mechanical and telecommunications industries.[4]
Cooper Bussmann
Manufacturer of a wide variety of North American and European-styled fuses for the electrical, electronics and transportation industries, plus inductors and transformers for electronic applications. The company also offers engineering, training and testing services.[5]
Bussmann was founded in 1914 by brothers Al, Frank, Joe, Harry and Lee Bussmann in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1929 it was acquired by Max McGraw (later McGraw Edison). In 1979 the headquarters and plant were moved to the current location in Ellisville, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb. McGraw Edison was acquired by Cooper Industries, Inc. in 1985. In 1993, Cooper Bussmann opened the Paul Gubany Center for High Power Technology.
Cooper Safety
Supplier of personal protection products and industrial safety equipment.[6]
Cooper Wiring Devices
Main article: Cooper Wiring DevicesSupplier of product brands including Arrow Hart and CORE Lighting Controls to residential, commercial and industrial markets.[7]
Cooper Power Systems
Manufacturer of medium- and high-voltage electrical equipment, components and systems. Headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the company also provides software, communications and integration products.[8]
The division's products include transformers, transformer components and fluids, capacitors, voltage regulators, reclosers and sectionalizers; distribution switchgear and automation equipment, electrical transmission, distribution, and industrial power system analysis software; other components and protective equipment.
Cooper Crouse-Hinds
Main article: Crouse-Hinds CompanyHeadquartered in Syracuse, New York this subsidiary markets over 100,000 electrical products worldwide. It originated in New York in 1897 and has been a division of Cooper Industries since 1981.[9]
Cooper Controls
Global manufacturer of lighting controls with offices in USA, UK, China, and UAE. Product brands include Greengate, iLight, iLumin, Light Factory, Lightprocessor, Zero88. Since 2009, the Greengate division specialises in the US lighting controls market. The line was born from a merger and buyout of Novitas (est. 1986) and PCI Lighting Controls (est. 1982). Novitas is credited[citation needed] with inventing and patenting the technology that created the first-ever automatic toggle switch (what would become known as an occupancy sensor). PCI had been a leading supplier of low-voltage lighting control panels.[10]
Apex Tool Group—joint venture
Apex Tool Group was formed in July 2010 as a joint venture of two manufacturers, Danaher Tool Group and Cooper Tools. The two businesses offer industrial, commercial, and do-it-yourself customers a selection of over 30 leading brands, including Crescent, GearWrench, Armstrong, and Weller.[11]
Cooper Industries CEOs
- Charles Cooper 1833-1895 (subsequently chairman to his death in 1901)
- Frank L. Fairchild 1895-1912
- Charles Gray Cooper 1912-1919 (chairman to 1923)
- Desault B. Kirk 1919-1920
- Beatty B. Williams 1920-1940 and 1941-1943 (chairman to 1956)
- Charles B. Jahnke 1940-1941
- Gordon Lefebvre 1943-1955
- Lawrence F. Williams 1955-1957 (chairman to 1959)
- Eugene L. Miller 1957-1975 (chairman to 1983)
- Robert Cizik 1975-1995 (chairman to 1996)
- H. John Riley Jr. 1995-2005 (chairman to 2006)
- Kirk S. Hachigian 2005–present
See also
References
- ^ About McGraw-Edison at McGraw Edison Fuses
- ^ Cooper Industries Announces Acquisitions of Mount Engineering plc and Apex Lighting Controls at BusinessWire, 10 November 2010
- ^ Cooper Lighting Official website
- ^ About Cooper B-line Official website
- ^ About Cooper Bussman Official website
- ^ Cooper Safety Official website
- ^ Cooper Wiring Devices Official website
- ^ Cooper Power Systems Official website
- ^ Cooper Crouse-Hinds Official website
- ^ Cooper Controls Official website
- ^ Apex Tool Group Official website.
External links
- http://www.weller.eu
- http://www.cooperinterconnect.com
- http://www.cyme.com
- http://www.ekasystems.com
Hand tool manufacturers Current Bondhus · Bradford Tool Industries · Buck Bros. · Channellock · Cooper Hand Tools (Crescent, Lufkin, Xcelite) · Cornwell Tools · Danaher Corporation (Allen, Armstrong Tools, Easco Hand Tools, GearWrench, K-D Tools, Matco Tools) · Digitool Solutions · Disston Saw Works · Eklind · Emerson (Ridgid) · Empire Level · Estwing · Felo · FEW · Fiskars (Gerber) · Gardner Bender · Gedore · Gray Tools · Hazet · Heyco · Ideal Industries (Pratt-Read, SK Hand Tools, Western Forge) · Klein Tools · Knipex · KUKKO · Leatherman · Lie-Nielsen Toolworks · Lisle Corporation · Newell Rubbermaid (Irwin, Lenox) · Park Tool · PB Swiss · Saltus · Sandvik · Snap-on (Bahco, CDI Torque Products, J.H. Williams Tool Group) · Stahlwille · Stanley Black & Decker (Blackhawk, Bostitch, Facom, Mac Tools, Proto, Sidchrome, Stanley Hand Tools) · Textron (Greenlee, Klauke, Paladin Tools) · Techtronic Industries (Milwaukee) · Thorsen Manufacturing · Tomé Fèteira · Toptul · Vaughan · Victorinox (Wenger) · Wera Tools · Wescott · Wiha Tools · Witte Tools · Wright ToolHistoric House brands Ace Hardware (Ace Tools) · AutoZone (Duralast) · Blain's Farm and Fleet (Duracraft) · Canadian Tire (Mastercraft) · The Home Depot (Husky, Workforce) · Lee Valley (Veritas) · Lowe's (Kobalt) · Menards (Masterforce) · Sears (Craftsman)Power tool manufacturers Altendorf · Cooper Power Tools (Gardner Denver) · Bosch (Dremel, Hawera, RotoZip, Skil) · Chang Type Industrial Co., Ltd. (Delta Machinery) · Emerson (Ridgid) · Fein · Festool · Flex-Elektrowerkzeuge · Harbor Freight Tools · Hilti · Hitachi · Husqvarna (McCulloch, Poulan) · Ingersoll Rand · Mafell · Makita (Dolmar) · Metabo · Panasonic · Illinois Tool Works (Miller, Paslode) · SawStop · Stanley Black & Decker (Bostitch, DeVilbiss Air Power, DeWalt, Porter-Cable, Virax) · Stihl · Techtronic Industries (AEG, Homelite, Milwaukee, Ryobi)Categories:- Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
- Companies based in Houston, Texas
- Companies established in 1833
- Marine engine manufacturers
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