Cooper Machine Co

Description

The history of Cooper Machine Company goes back many years. Formed in 1965 in the small South Georgia town of Wadley by Mr. H. M. “Billy” Cooper, it started out as a general machine and fabrication shop, involved mostly in mill repair, renovation, and job shop work. But that wasn’t enough for a man with Billy’s mechanical aptitude and engineering savvy; he needed another outlet for his creativity. He delved into custom fabrication work for companies like Georgia Pacific and Kimberly Clark, manufactured lift trucks and log and lowboy trailers, and even became a dealer for Timberjack skidders and Ronen loaders. Then, while he was in the middle of a mill remodeling and repair project, he conceived the idea for what has come to be known throughout the industry as the “Overhead End Dogging Scragg” mill.Cooper’s first Overhead Scragg mill was sold to Battle Lumber Company (a Wadley sawmill) in 1972, which served as a proving ground for the new design. The Overhead End Dogging Scragg demonstrated its value immediately, and set Cooper Machine on the road to becoming a leader in sawmill machinery manufacturing and design. As a testament to Cooper’s quality and workmanship, that original scragg mill was operated daily for nearly 20 years before Battle sold it and replaced it with a newer, upgraded Cooper model. (What about that first machine? It’s still in operation in a Texas sawmill.)Billy died in 1995, but his two sons, Bill and Robert, now run the company and seem to have inherited his enthusiasm and talent for building sawmill machinery, and many of their designs are setting the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and productivity in the industry. But quality, innovation, efficiency, and productivity are not all that’s required to sell the product. The product must also have the support of the manufacturer, and that is another area where Cooper Machine excels. Not only does their Technical Service Department go to great lengths to ensure that the machines are properly installed and to provide in depth training for sawmill personnel in the areas of maintenance and proper operation, but they are also available to provide technical support and advice on machinery upgrades and modifications.

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