History

1952 - Cooper Electric begins operations as the North Carolina Division of White Electric Co. of Atlanta, GA.

1954 - Joe Cooper, then division manager, purchases the company, and incorporates it as Cooper Electrical Construction Company. The primary markets are industrial and commercial, including design / build. Cooper Electric establishes customers throughout the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee.

1969 - H. B. (Bud) Brown joins the company. Bud, an electrical engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, had been a field engineer for Square D for twelve years prior to joining Cooper.

1982 - Mr. Cooper retires, selling half of the company to Bud Brown.

1985 - Barry Brown, son of Bud Brown, joins the business. Barry has an electrical engineering degree from Georgia Tech. For five years he was a senior design engineer at Harris Corporation in Melbourne, FL.In 1987 Barry received his professional engineers license.

1988 - Bud becomes the sole owner of Cooper Electric.

1990 - Joe Young, son-in-law to Bud Brown, joins Cooper. Joe has an engineering degree from Virginia Tech and worked seven years for Weidmuller, Inc., a manufacturer of electrical and electronic control interface devices. In 1999, Joe received his professional engineer's license.

1996 - Cooper establishes the Instrumentation Construction Division and quickly establish a presence in the market with major projects in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, air-separation, gas transmission, and food processing. We routinely handle multi-million dollar electrical / instrumentation projects, as well as maintenance contracts.

1999 – Bud Brown becomes CEO and Barry Brown becomes President and the majority shareholder of the company. In addition to design/build and management of large projects, Barry handles day-to-day corporate management. Joe Young becomes Vice President. In addition to design / build and project management responsibilities, Joe handles business development and oversees safety and IT.

2003 - Bud Brown retires, selling his remaining shares of company to Barry and Joe.

2004 – Cooper establishes the Instrumentation Services Division. The group is dedicated to performing a full range of instrument services including calibrations, installation, repair, and start up assistance.

2006 - Cooper establishes the Water & Waste Water Division, performing large and small electrical and instrumentation construction projects in this market throughout North Carolina and Virginia.

TODAY - Cooper remains a closely held family business, averaging $20 million in revenues in design/build electrical, plan/spec electrical and instrumentation projects. Cooper has two licensed professional engineers, eight project managers, nine experienced field superintendents and a rich tradition of quality, value and professional service.