Cooper family has left a lasting impression

Reprinted with the permission of The Oakville Beaver

You don’t have to look far to see the fruits of Cooper Construction’s labours. From Halton’s police and regional headquarters and the new Budds’ buildings at Bronte Road, to CTV’s expanded studio in Scarborough, scores of McMaster University buildings and some of Hamilton’s oldest buildings, they’re all Cooper-made.

Comfortably at the helm of his family’s third-generation business, William Press Cooper is no longer in a rush to make his mark. In fact, as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary, the milestone has sparked in Cooper not only the desire to review the company’s history, but also his family genealogy.

At 65, Cooper confesses that while he no longer hits the ski slopes, golf links or tennis courts with the same verve as when his three children were young, he has developed an interest in family history.

To that end he joins heads occasionally with a University of Toronto adjunct professor — of Middle and Near Eastern Biblical/Hebrew and Medieval Arabic - to track down the past and clues about his forebears. “Right now we’re back to the mid-1700s,” said Cooper, a down-to-earth man with friendly, clear blue eyes.

He’s quick to don his suit jacket for a photo, however, in the president’s office of Cooper Construction headquarters on Bristol Circle, he simply wears his crisp white shirt - and tie. “I prefer Bill, just plain Bill,” he says, with a casual demeanor that belies obvious family tradition.

Cooper Construction Limited was founded in 1905 by Cooper’s grandfather, William Henry (W.H.), Cooper.

Not only was the company business passed on to subsequent generations, so was the name William. William Henry’s son was Ralph William (R.W.) Cooper, who took over the family business and then passed it on to his son, William Press (W.P.) when he was unexpectedly sidelined, hospitalized for more than a year, and left somewhat paralyzed by a debilitating disease.

Cooper’s middle name, Press, is actually the surname of his grandmother’s father, Richard Press, who was a carpenter, builder and lumber supplier, at the time Cooper’s grandfather established Cooper Construction.

Much of the company and family history is outlined in a commemorative book penned by Lois-Anne Brebner and designed and produced by Fraiman Design Inc. for the 100th anniversary.

Cooper’s grandfather was a mason who didn’t have the opportunity of higher education, yet he had a dream — and made it a reality.

Cooper Construction broke ground in 1905 without any fanfare, and by 1908 it had built the architecturally-rich Landed Banking & Loan Company in Hamilton.

“W.H. Cooper quickly earned a sterling reputation as a businessman and model citizen, serving in leadership roles in his church and community,” states the commemorative book. Cooper’s grandfather proved to be a lifelong advocate of McMaster University, the YMCA of Hamilton and the Hamilton General Hospital.

Cooper’s father joined the family firm in the late 1920s and again his business efforts were augmented by those that included church, finance, sports, education and health.

His passion for the Canadian Football League, saw him build the Canadian Football Hall of Fame at cost in the 1970s. He also served as Chair of the Canadian Football Council in its inaugural year in 1956, and was, in 1992, inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

It was in the 1970s, that Cooper, at the age of 24 and fresh from the engineering program at the University of New Brunswick, was called upon to take over the family business when his father fell ill. His father’s illness was tough for the family — Cooper’s mom Evelyn and his twin sister, Barbara, and older sister Kae.

“The company had a very good management team which supported me when I came into the office,” said Cooper. He’d been with the company for less than two years — and suddenly the plan for him to work in various aspects of the business fell apart and he was thrust into the lead. Cooper admitted it is really after seven or eight years that you’re “fully able to get your hands around things.”

Cooper said he was in his thirties when he established a firm grasp. His father, though physically challenged, still possessed a very good mind and was able to offer sound business mentoring. And the question of stepping into his father’s shoes was never in question for Cooper.

“There was no real pressure that the business had to be continued by the next generation. I’d never really thought that much about anything else,” he admitted, noting he’d worked summers for the company and studying engineering “seemed a natural to me.”

Asked about how it felt to be at the helm unexpectedly at such an early age, Cooper said, “I didn’t think of it. I was too young and too stupid to understand. You just put your head down and go.”

His father died at the age of 86 and his mom, not long after.

Cooper and his wife Gillian, “Gill,” (they were married in 1967) have three children, Jennifer, 35, Diana, 34, and Bill Jr., 32.

As neither of his daughters, like their aunts before them, are involved in the business, it was Bill Jr. who worked for a couple of years at the firm. He’s now working in the commercial real-estate field.

Cooper quickly asserts there’s no pressure for Bill Jr. to assume the company leadership, so it’s a decision he’ll leave to his son over the ensuing years.

Cooper said you need to be happy getting out of bed in the morning and going to work and admitted, “I’m not set on preserving the company in the family. If he’s not interested, that’s fine, things don’t last forever.”

While his grandfather made the leap from home-building to industrial/commercial building, so, too, did Cooper take the company in a new direction.

Under his grandfather and father’s stewardship, Cooper Construction built a solid reputation and lasting business relationships — some lasting nearly 80 years. “Repeat business is a hallmark of Cooper Construction,” reads the commemorative book. Some of those lasting relationships included the Hoover Company Limited, Canadian Westinghouse, Canadian Canners, the YMCA and McMaster University.

As Cooper assumed the leadership of Cooper Construction, he never lost sight of his predecessors’ commitment to quality and integrity or the family tradition of community service. He did, however, steer the company through some very turbulent waters — the recession of the 1970s, the real estate collapse of the 1980s and the need to downsize to right-size the company in the 1990s.

It was through those tough times that the third-generation Cooper made the decision to take the company in a new direction — the head office moved closer to the Toronto market and into the real estate, development, design/build areas — while maintaining its role as a general contractor.

While Cooper recalls the slow days where there was no rush to get to the office because the telephone wasn’t ringing off the hook, he looked to a change of venue and change of direction as a means of combating such downturns in future.

Cooper stuck with the decision despite the later collapse of the real estate market. “We were able fortunately to struggle through. A lot of companies didn’t. It took four or five years to get back on our feet,” said Cooper. He is adamant that the move into the real estate/development, design/build market has enabled Cooper to “control our own destiny a lot more.”

It was during the downsizing years that Cooper’s head office moved to Oakville, but the fit has proved good. Much of the market demand is now here. Cooper has landholdings in Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Guelph.

Cooper said much of the 35 acres of industrial land it purchased as surplus from Procor is now developed. So, too, are Cooper’s extensive holdings in the Winston Business Park near Dundas Street and Winston Churchill Boulevard.

In Cooper’s estimation the wave of growth “is just about gone” through Oakville. He notes the land north of Dundas and north toward Hwy. 407 will be several decades in development.

Cooper’s preference is to buy smaller parcels of land that is either serviced or ready for servicing. He noted, however, many American firms are coming north to buy large blocks of land, even building large warehouses on speculation.

Transportation is key to the industrial sector, which makes Milton’s proximity to Hwy. 401 and Hwy. 407 a key to its future growth.

Like fashion, business trends change, as do building needs and even designs. Cooper said today’s architectural trends are reminiscent of the 1950s. “Every building is unique. No two are the same. Every project has its own sets of problems, hopefully none that are overwhelming. We’ve been pretty fortunate,” said Cooper.

Learning about people is a big part of the construction, and real estate fields, as it’s fundamental to learn about how someone does their business in order to understand their needs.

He admitted, however, he feels his greatest responsibility is to his employees — people who work hard on behalf of his company and his family.

And on the subject of family, it was an old photo of his great grandfather in military dress and bearing medals that led Cooper into research and the discovery that his great grandfather had fought in the Indian Wars, and Crimean War, where he was injured. Research indicates he was nursed at one of the very first field hospitals established by Florence Nightingale.

For the second year, Cooper is chair of the United Way of Oakville’s fundraising campaign. His other community involvement over the years includes directorships on boards for CTV Inc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Clarica Life Assurance Company, Cogeco Cable Inc., Laidlaw Inc., Stelco Inc., McMaster University, YMCA of Hamilton, and Hospital for Sick Children.

With no immediate plans to retire … “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself,” and a business plan that’s steady as she goes, Cooper says, “Life is interesting, it’s really what you make of it.”