The beginnings of Cooper^® date back to 1914 in Akron, Ohio, when two brothers-in-law John F. Schaefer and Claude E. Hart formed a company to produce tire patches, tire cement and tire repair kits.  Schaefer and Hart purchased The Giant Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, a tire rebuilding business, and shortly thereafter moved the business to Findlay, Ohio. In 1926, Ira J. Cooper^® developed the “Cooper^® Creed” which focused the company on providing “good merchandise, fair play, and a square deal.” The vision of Ira J. Cooper^® continues at Cooper^® today.