Cooper Industries

Cooper Industries Inc.

Type	Subsidiary of Eaton Corporation Inc.
Fate	2015 Acquired by Eaton Corporation
Founded	Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA (1833)
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois, USA
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

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.^[1]

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

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 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 the shift of the United States from an agrarian to an industrial society.

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).

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.^[2] On May 23, 2002, Cooper Industries Inc had completed reincorporation in Bermuda from Ohio.

In Feb 2008, Cooper Industries announced its acquisition of MTL Instruments Group.^[3] On November 30, 2012, Eaton announced its completion of acquisition of Cooper Industries.^[4]

The $13 billion acquisition of Cooper, the largest in Eaton's 101-year history, was intended to transform milestone that expands market segment reach, broadens portfolio of products, services, and solutions, and strengthens the global geographic footprint, according to Eaton chairman and chief executive officer Alexander M. Cutler.

Divisions

Cooper Industries was acquired by Eaton Corporation in 2012.^[5] The divisions are undergoing name changes as a result.

Eaton's Cooper Lighting Business

Eaton's Cooper Lighting Business manufactures lighting fixtures and related products to worldwide commercial, industrial, residential and utility markets. This includes track and recessed lighting (LED, fluorescent, H.I.D.), exit and emergency, vandal-resistant, landscape and complex environment lighting. Eaton's Cooper Lighting Business manufactures lighting fixtures under several brands, many of which where the result of acquisitions. These brands include:

Corelite
Fail-Safe
Halo
IRiS
Lumark
McGraw-Edison
Metalux
Neo-Ray
Portfolio
RSA
Sure-Lites
Shaper
Streetworks

Eaton's B-line Business

Eaton's B-Line Business (formerly Cooper B-Line) is a global provider of support systems and enclosure solutions for engineered facility subsystem applications in various markets: commercial, industrial, utility and OEM.

Eaton's Bussmann Business

Eaton's Bussmann Business (formerly Cooper Bussmann) manufactures and markets a wide variety of North American and European-styled fuses for the electrical, electronics and transportation industries. The company also produces industrial and mobile wireless solutions, plus inductors and transformers for power quality in electronics applications.^[6] Bussmann's main industrial manufacturing facilities are located in the United States (Black Mountain and Goldsboro NC, Chicago IL, Ellisville MO, Boca Raton FL), in Mexico (Juarez and Mexico City), in UK (Workington and Burton-on-the-Wolds), Xi’an (China), India (Pondicherry), Costa Rica (San Jose), Brazil (Itu).^[7]

Business Units

Electrical - Serving infrastructure, automation, renewable energy and transportation/high reliability
Electronics - Serving renewable energy, automation and transportation/high reliability, computers, communications and consumer
Transportation - Serving hybrid/electric vehicles, traction
Wireless - Serving transportation, heavy duty/off-road, and industrial
Consumer - Serving automotive aftermarket and hardware/home center

Eaton's Cooper Safety Business

Eaton's Cooper Safety Business (formerly Cooper Safety) specializes in notification, alarm and safety systems. This includes emergency lighting, fire detection and alarm systems, hazardous area communications, life safety notifications, mains lighting and security systems. Cooper notification acquired Wheelock inc. In 2006.

Eaton's Cooper Wiring Devices Business

Eaton's Cooper Wiring Devices Business (formerly Cooper Wiring Devices) works closely with Eaton's Cooper Lighting Business. The company has acquired well known brands like Eagle Electric, Arrow Hart, ArrowLink, RhinoBox, Aspire, Aspire RF, and MediaSync. The companies products include cable assemblies, data connectors for military, home and commercial, lighting switches, outlets, receptacles, subsea wiring and communications ports.

Eaton's Cooper Power Systems Business

Eaton's Cooper Power Systems Business (formerly Cooper Power Systems) a subsidiary of Cooper Industries is a global manufacturer and provider of power delivery apparatus and solutions for the utility, commercial, and industrial markets in the medium voltage and high voltage ranges.

The company provides a large portfolio of products and services required to transform, protect, connect, and build out an electric power system backbone. Smart apparatus – voltage regulators, capacitors, reclosers, switchgear, smart sensors, and controls – integrated with enterprise level software and secure communications enable customers to increase productivity, optimize asset efficiency, improve system reliability, and reduce costs. Reliability and grid-point solutions include: Integrated Volt/Var Control (IVVC), feeder, and substation automation systems. Endpoint solutions include: Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Demand Response (DR). Additionally the company provides engineering optimization and modeling tools.

Eaton's Crouse-Hinds Business

Eaton's Crouse-Hinds Business (formerly Cooper Crouse-Hinds) specializes in explosion proof and hazardous environments

Joint Ventures

Apex Tool Group

Main article: Apex Tool Group

Apex Tool Group was formed in July 2010 as a joint venture of two manufacturers, Danaher Tool Group and Cooper Hand 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.^[8]

In October 2012, Danaher Corporation and Cooper Industries agreed to sell the Apex Tool Group to Bain Capital for a fee of around $1.6 billion.^[9]