Cooper Corporation

Nestled on the banks of the majestic Krishna river, in the idyllic foothills of grand mountains and forts such as Ajinkya Tara, Sajjangad, Jarandeshwar, you will find Cooper Corporation astutely redefining business, spearheading innovation and serving customers worldwide. The Cooper family has been in Satara for more than a 100 years now and has established its name in many diverse fields, ranging from agriculture, education, social reform, politics to liquor, engineering, and other industries. Its name is associated with many luminaries like Chatrapati Bhonsale Scions, Yashwantrao Chavan, Prabhodhankar Thackeray, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil, Dr Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar, Walchand, Kirloskar, Kalyani, great reformer Keshavrao Vichare and Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur. Sir Dhanjisha B Cooper, the first entrepreneur in the family, came from a very humble background. His father was a carpenter in charge of repairing barrels at a distillery and hence, the family name, Cooper. However, D B Cooper broke free from the family profession and started a liquor business by extracting toddy from palm trees in a plantation that he maintained. Simultaneously, he ran many liquor shops throughout the former state of Bombay Presidency. Being an entrepreneur, he utilised his profits in starting a small company on Satara Road that manufactured ploughs, agriculture equipment, and years later, diesel engines. Eventually, the company went on to be known as Cooper Engineering Limited. In those days of the British Rule, it was difficult for an Indian to establish an industry anywhere in the country. However, Cooper was one of the three - others being Kirloskar and Ogale - who chose to set up their own factories along the railway line. Over the years, Cooper Engineering continued to grow under the joint ownership with the Walchand's into a multi-faceted engineering company making diesel engines, machine tools, looms etc. Back then, Sir D. B. Cooper was also ably assisted by his only son, Nariman D. Cooper, who despite being an agriculture graduate, took to looking after the daily operations of Cooper Engineering.