Cooper Turbocompressor Inc history

Their new “one-horse” operation was powered by another horse named Bessie until 1836, when a small steam engine was built and installed to power their foundry.

Beginning in 1846 they also supplied war machinery for the government during the War with Mexico.

When Elias Cooper died in 1848, Charles Cooper took on a succession of partners.

Mount Vernon was linked to the rest of the nation by railroad in 1851, and the following year Cooper was able to ship its first steam-powered compressors for blast furnaces.

In 1869, Cooper became the first company in what was then the West to produce the new, highly efficient Corliss engine.

In 1875 partner Colonel George Rogers patented an innovative “bevel gear” attachment, designed to transfer power from the crank shaft of a farm engine to its rear wheels, making it a self-propelled traction engine.

The 1890’s saw the C. & G. Cooper Co. move away from farm engine manufacturing, expanding their production of the Corliss engine instead, which was sold to large mills and manufacturing plants.

1895: C. & G. Cooper Company is incorporated.

Not long after Charles Cooper's death in 1901, it became clear that steam turbine engines were destined to replace the Corliss engine.

In 1919, C.G. Cooper became chairman and Desault B. Kirk, the company's treasurer, became president.

Their need for additional capital along with Cooper’s need for additional production facilities resulted in the merger and formation of The Cooper-Bessemer Corporation on April 4, 1929.

In 1936, Cooper-Bessemer introduced the GMV integral gas engine compressor which was produced for many years at the Mount Vernon plant.

Charles B. Jahnke was elected president in 1940, and Williams moved to chairman of the board.

In 1941, Cooper-Bessemer's net sales jumped to an all-time high, and just two years later they had more than tripled.

1944: The company lists on the New York Stock Exchange.

It formed an international sales office and announced its first sales-service branch outside the United States, in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1945.

Miller had begun at Cooper-Bessemer in 1946.

Cooper-Bessemer’s involvement with rotating machinery began in 1950 with the design and ultimate production of turbochargers for engine use.

In 1951, Cooper-Bessemer's sales of $52 million surpassed its wartime high by nearly $10 million.

At the same time, the company was rebuffing a 1955 takeover attempt by a private investor named Robert New.

Due to revitalized demand, sales bounced back in 1956 to a record high of $61.2 million, but it was becoming increasingly clear that Cooper-Bessemer needed to diversify in order to avoid the cyclical pitfalls of energy-related manufacturing.

In 1964, it opened an office in Beirut and also formed a wholly owned British subsidiary, Cooper-Bessemer (U.K.), Ltd.

In 1965 The Cooper-Bessemer Corporation diversified into Cooper Industries, with the Mount Vernon and Grove City, Pa., operations comprising the energy segment of the business.

Cooper acquired Lufkin Rule Company of Saginaw, Michigan, in 1967.

After satisfying a Justice Department challenge, Cooper acquired the White Superior engine division, a heavy-duty engine maker, from the White Motor Company in 1976.

In 1979, Cooper realized a dream of acquiring the Dallas-based Gardner-Denver Company, a company roughly the same size as Cooper.

Cooper's next move was a 1985 merger with McGraw-Edison Company, a manufacturer of electrical energy-related products for industrial, commercial, and utility use.

In late November 1989, Cooper acquired Cameron Iron Works, a Houston-based maker of oil tools, ball valves, and forged products with annual sales of $611 million.

Acquisitions Culminate in 1995 Merger

In 1996, Cooper Cameron cleared a profit of $64.2 million on earnings of $1.4 billion.

In 2001, the company closed its Springfield, Ohio, manufacturing plant, signaling its exit from the Superior brand natural gas engine market.