Cooper Industries

Cooper Industries Inc.

Type	Subsidiary of Eaton Corporation Inc.
Fate	2015 Acquired by Eaton Corporation
Founded	Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States (1833)
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Key people	Kirk S. Hachigian, CEO & Chairman
Products	Electrical equipment
Revenue	US$5,409.4 million (2011)
Net income	US$827.6 million (2011)
Number of employees	26,000 (2011)
Website	[1]

Cooper Industries was an American worldwide electrical products manufacturer with 2011 revenues of $5.4 billion. Founded in 1833, the company has seven operating divisions including Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG explosion-proof electrical equipment; Halo and Metalux lighting fixtures; and Kyle and McGraw-Edison power systems products. With this broad range of products, Cooper is positioned for several long-term growth trends including the global infrastructure build-out, the need to improve the reliability and productivity of the electric grid, the demand for higher energy-efficient products and the need for improved electrical safety. In 2011 fifty-nine percent of total sales were to customers in the industrial and utility end-markets and forty percent of total sales were to customers outside the United States. Cooper has manufacturing facilities in 23 countries as of 2011.

On November 26, 2012, it was announced that the company will be replaced in the S&P 500 index.

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 had shifted its focus to manufacturing steam engines in hopes of leveraging the country's growing trend towards rail transportation.

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, which is still referenced to this day in Cooper's stock symbol (CBE). In the 1940s, Cooper 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 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. Cornerstone acquisitions during this period included Crouse-Hinds (1981) and McGraw-Edison (1985).