Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company engaged in the design and manufacture of tires for passenger cars and middle-class trucks. Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio , the company distributes its products through an extensive network of dealers located in 10 countries around the world.
Cooper began its history in 1914, when two brothers acquired the M & M Company, located in Akron (Ohio, USA) and producing raw materials for tire manufacturing and repair kits. Things were going well, and in 1917, the Giant Tire & Rubber Company (Findlay, Ohio), which produced new tires, was bought. Another co-owner was a Cincinnati auto parts retailer named IJ Cooper, founder of The Cooper Corporation in 1919. The two companies merged with The Falls Rubber Company of Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) and formed The Master Tire & Rubber Company in 1930. During World War II, Master Tire produced special rafts from the US military for inflatable rafts, pontoon bridges, rescue devices, and waterproof bags. In 1946, the company name was changed to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. In 1960, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company owns 10 production facilities in the USA and Mexico, has a large dealer network in many countries of the world. Today, Cooper is the independent, twelfth largest tire manufacturer in the world. Cooper owns 60 plants in 13 countries, with over 20,000 employees. The company also owns Avon Tires, Dean Tires, Kenda Tires, Mastercraft Tires, Starfire Tires, Oliver Tires, Mickey Thompson, Roadmaster, DickCepek, Dominator, Austone, Chengshan.