Ploughing into the future: Farokh Cooper

More than a century after its founding, Cooper Corporation remains anything but old-fashioned. Born from the vision of his great-grandfather, Chairman and Managing Director Farokh Cooper has transformed the modest agricultural machinery manufacturer into a symbol of relentless innovation.

Now, he is steering Cooper Corporation into the future, and the most recent achievement has been the launch of the Cooper Tractor NDC Series in February 2025, its official entry into the tractor market and culmination of a decade‑long journey from design to commercialization.

Cooper, an agriculture graduate, personally led the design of the Cooper Tractor in the 2010s – India’s first tractor developed under farming expertise rather than engineering training, displaying a mindset focused on reinvention rather than routine.

While agriculture has long been woven into the company’s DNA, the scale and scope of its operations have changed. When Cooper first joined in the late 1960s, the team consisted of just 20 people. But when he tapped into his school day contacts in England to launch a foundry, the business began to flourish.

"From there, we started having the most high-tech foundry, definitely in India and possibly anywhere in the world," Cooper tells The CEO Magazine.

Identifying opportunities

After deciding to use the facility to manufacture cylinder liners, a critical engine component, he started to seek out customers. But with an abundance of foundries in India, the search ultimately took him overseas – to the United States.

A chance encounter in a hotel with a man from the same Parsi community ultimately led to a business opportunity in its cylinder liners; the pair struck a deal for US$8 per piece – a price far exceeding the US$2 he was currently charging in India.

"I sent it to him by DHL and the business started," he recalls. "From there, we grew and grew. And today, I export 50 percent of what I make."

After that, taking the operation to the next level seemed like a logical next step.

"We said, ‘If we make all the components for the engine, why don’t we make an engine?’"

Fortunately, Cooper’s grandfather had experience in this area and knew a designer who could bring the idea to life. They swiftly started producing engines for automotive applications and exporting them worldwide.

"The country is growing so fast; it has to be fed," he explains. "Agriculture is an evergreen profession, an evergreen business. No government can afford to ignore agriculture.

"Farming is evergreen. Farming has to be modernized. Farming has to upgrade itself. Technology has to change. AI has to come. People have to be taught how to produce more from the same land. The country has to be fed."

Rural focus

In Cooper’s view, the bedrock of democracy in India is the farmers in rural areas, where 80 percent of the country’s population lives.

"Though you may buy a very fancy flat in Mumbai or Delhi, that doesn’t matter," he insists. "You have to go back to the fellow who grows your vegetables, your eggs, your milk and so on. So, we’ve always seen that agriculture is a growth sector, and then we said, ‘With our synergy and our technology, why don’t we make a tractor?’"

With the same ingenuity that had served it so well in the past, Cooper Corporation did exactly that. And although the move was met with some skepticism, Cooper was unfazed.

"As usual, people said, ‘How will you compete?’" he shares. "Well, you succeed only because you have competition, and the tractor industry is moving at seven percent. We started a project, and it’s doing well. Because we have a rural background; people know us."

He also credits partners such as Fleetguard Filters as well as government support in the project’s early success, pinpointing available subsidies designed to support rural areas, without which the company’s costs would be as much as 10 times more.

"You literally recover your investment after you start production," he says. "That has been a big help for us. We’re a debt-free company, but with the subsidies that we have, we are so competitive in the market."

So far, the response to the tractor has been "absolutely electric", he says. "We started in February, which is the off-season. Now we are selling about five or six tractors a day," Cooper shares. "So far, we’ve sold more than 300 and going upwards.

"The customer wants change. Not only a price, he wants change. You have to show him something different."

India’s reputation as a low-cost but quality manufacturer has driven interest from the export market, which has also fueled the project’s early success, according to Cooper.

"Our labor is cheap, but our skills are high – we get a lot of export business because of that," he says. "We are only one of two companies in the world that go from molten metal to a finished product and are world leaders in quality for every product that we manufacture."

Winning culture

However, the tractor momentum is just one sign of Cooper Corporation’s success. For Cooper, the loyalty of his team is another critical marker. As he likes to point out, it’s not a company, it is a culture.

"We have 400 people working here for more than 40 years," he says. "You only have to speak with anyone at one of our 13 factories to see the passion and pride that they feel for the various jobs that they do and for being part of the Cooper culture."

Reluctant to leave their towns or villages to go and work in the big cities because of job uncertainty, people are turning to Cooper Corporation as a solution – one rooted in stability, long-term thinking and respect for its workforce.

That approach begins at the top. "I have a policy," Cooper explains. "What you’re doing today is good, but what can you do better? You have to challenge your own assumptions. You have to keep up with the technology. You have to change the order and order the change, and then you’re through.

"If you have integrity and you behave well with people, your labor is your asset – not your enemy. And the rest is history."