Cooper traces its roots back to Akron, Ohio when two brothers-in-law purchased the M & M Company in 1914 making tyre patches and repair kits. The owners then purchased the Giant Tire & Rubber Company to make "rebuilt" tyres and moved the business to Findlay, Ohio, in 1917.

Another investor named I.J. Cooper established The Cooper Corporation in 1919 on an adjacent property for manufacturing new tyres. These two companies merged with The Falls Rubber Company of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in 1930 and formed The Master Tire & Rubber Company.

In 1946, the company name was changed to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. In 1960 the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, Cooper is the eighth largest tyre manufacturer in the world and is among the 350 largest companies in America. From one small manufacturing plant in Findlay, Cooper now operates 10 production facilities around the U.S. and in Mexico. Since At year's end, Cooper has expanded to 60 facilities in 13 countries, with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. It remains one of only two American-owned tyre companies.