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Cooper Industries plc

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Type	Public (NYSE: CBE) S&P 500 Component
Founded	Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA (1833)
Headquarters	Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland
Key people	Kirk S. Hachigian, CEO & Chairman
Products	Electrical equipment
Revenue	US$5,409.4 million (2011)
Net income	US$827.6 million (2011)
Employees	26,000 (2011)
Website	www.cooperindustries.com

Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) is a global 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.^[1]

History[link]

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. It was during this period that the Company developed the Cooper Traction Engine, an innovation that is credited for helping to power our nation’s move from an agrarian to an industrial society.

As the use of steam power declined in the late 1800’s, Cooper again shifted its focus, this time to gas engine technology. By the time the 20th century arrived, Cooper Industries had become the national 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 1940’s, 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).

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. Cooper is focusing on a core set of strategic initiatives, improving management practices, strengthening the balance sheet and re-focusing its product portfolio on key technology platforms.^[2]

Divisions[link]

Cooper Lighting[link]

Cooper Lighting, a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), provides lighting fixtures and controls to commercial, industrial, retail, institutional, residential and utility markets.^[3]

Cooper B-line[link]

Cooper B-Line, a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), provides support systems and enclosure solutions for engineered facility subsystem applications. Cooper B-Line's products are used in a variety of settings for the commercial, industrial, utility and OEM markets.^[4]

Cooper Bussmann[link]

Cooper Bussmann, is a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The company is committed to the development, manufacturing and marketing of circuit and power electronics protection and power management products, and provides engineering, training and testing services globally for the electrical, electronics and transportation industries. The company provides brands including Cooper Bussmann® circuit protection products, Coiltronics® magnetics, PowerStor® supercapacitors, Elpro® and OMNEX® industrial and mobile wireless systems, Sure Power, Martek Power, and Laser Drive power management and converter products.^[5]

Cooper Safety[link]

Cooper Safety manufactures emergency lighting, security, fire detection and notification systems that can be found in a variety of industrial, commercial, and domestic settings providing protection to both life and property by offering fire and security detection, and escape route illumination in the event of an emergency. Headquartered in Royal Leamington Spa, England, Cooper Safety is a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE).^[6]

Cooper Wiring Devices[link]

Cooper Wiring Devices features Arrow Hart commercial and industrial solutions, CORE Lighting Controls, residential wiring devices and Cooper Interconnect industrial, military, aerospace, and subsea connectivity solutions. Cooper Wiring Devices provides products that increase productivity, energy efficiency, safety at work and in the home, and reliable performance. Cooper Interconnect, a Cooper Wiring Devices’ business unit, manufactures sophisticated interconnect solutions for demanding environments and features well-known brands such as G&H, WPI, Burton, General Connector brands, Cam-Lok, and Thorkom. A subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), Cooper Wiring Devices is headquartered in Peachtree City, GA with international manufacturing and distribution facilities.^[7]

Cooper Power Systems[link]

Cooper Power Systems, with 2010 revenues of approximately $1.2 billion, is a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), and a global manufacturer of power delivery and reliability solutions for the utility, commercial, and industrial markets. Cooper Power Systems provides Smart Grid technologies that optimize electrical grid performance. These solutions include Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Demand Response (DR), Smart Sensors, Power Systems Engineering Software and Services, Substation Automation, and Feeder Automation. The company also provides software, communications and integration solutions that enable customers to increase productivity, improve system reliability, and reduce costs.^[8]

Cooper Crouse-Hinds[link]

Headquartered in Syracuse, N.Y., Cooper Crouse-Hinds is a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) that integrates a comprehensive line of electrical and instrumentation products with expert support, industry insights and local availability, engineering safety and productivity in the most demanding industrial and commercial environments worldwide. Cooper Crouse-Hinds manufactures over 100,000 products, including conduit and cable fittings; enclosures; plugs and receptacles; industrial lighting fixtures; signals and alarms; controls and electrical apparatus; commercial outlet boxes and hubs; and electronic components and protection equipment for process control branded MTL Instruments Group. Cooper Crouse-Hinds products are sold worldwide and meet all local and international code requirements. They are used in general construction or in harsh and hazardous environments across the globe, performing to the highest standard of safety and reliability.^[9]

Apex Tool Group—joint venture[link]

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.^[10]

Cooper Industries CEOs[link]

• 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[link]

• MTL Instruments Group

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.weller.eu
• http://www.cooperinterconnect.com
• http://www.cyme.com
• http://www.ekasystems.com