History
The earliest corporate lineage for Cooper Tire was the M and M Manufacturing Company, founded in 1914 in Akron, Ohio by John F. Schaefer and Claude E. Hart, who were related by marriage. Their new company produced tire patches, tire cement and tire repair kits. They purchased The Giant Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, a tire rebuilding business, in 1920, and in 1922 moved the business to Findlay, Ohio, at a site at the intersection of Lima and Western Avenues that is still occupied by Cooper Tire, adjacent to The Cooper Corporation facility. The Cooper name originates from 1919 when Cincinnati auto-parts dealer I. J. Cooper formed The Cooper Corporation in Findlay, to manufacture new tires. The Cooper Corporation, the M and M Company, and The Falls Rubber company merged in 1930 to form the Master Tire and Rubber Company. The company name was changed to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in 1946.
The Cooper oval trademark with the Cooper Knight headgear was first registered and used in 1941. In those early years of the brand's identification, the logo also included a banner proclaiming the tires' "armored-cord" construction. The company's red, white, and blue logo would become one of the most easily recognized emblems in the tire industry.
During World War II the company, known as Master Tire and Rubber, manufactured pontoons, landing boats, waterproof bags and camouflage items, inflatable barges, life jackets and tank decoys, as well as tires, to supply the Allied forces. The US government recognized the company's contribution to the war effort in a 1945 ceremony bestowing the Army-Navy ‘E’ Award (for excellence). Soon after the war (1946) the company name was changed to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
In 1997 Cooper purchased Avon Tyres Ltd, based in Melksham, England.
The company's largest growth acquisition occurred in 1999 when it bought The Standard Products Company, which increased the total workforce by 10,000 employees.
In 2003 Cooper purchased Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels.
In December 2003 Cooper agreed to a joint venture with Kenda Rubber Industrial Company, to construct a tire-manufacturing plant near Shanghai.
In January 2005 Cooper agreed to purchase 11% of the Kumho Tires Company, and also announced the formation of a new commercial division encompassing both Oliver Rubber Company and commercial tires.
In October 2005 Cooper announced an agreement to obtain 51% ownership in China’s third largest tire manufacturer, Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Passenger Tire Company Ltd., and Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Truck Tire Company Ltd., to produce truck and passenger car tires for mainland Chinese and export markets. Two of the businesses of the joint venture are Cooper Chengshan Passenger Tire, and Cooper Chengshan Tire. In 2007 Cooper set up a manufacturing venture in eastern China with Kenda Rubber Industrial Company, a company based in the Republic of China on Taiwan. Cooper generates 25% of its global sales in the People's Republic of China. In 2007 Cooper sold its Oliver Rubber Company subsidiary, which produced tread rubber and retreading equipment, to Michelin for $69 million.
At the end of 2011. Cooper bought Serbian tire company Trayal from Kruševac. Cooper took over a unit of Trayal Korporacija AD from Bulgarian company Brikel EAD for $13 million and invest as much as $50 million.
Cooper is the second largest United States-based tire company, after Goodyear.
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