Paul and Jane Copeland settled in Paris, TN in 1954, a halfway point between his family in Michigan and hers in Louisiana. Paul started Copeland Refrigeration in 1955, offering refrigeration sales, installation and rental, as well as 24-hour service to Middle and West Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky.

Always keen to provide the best value to his customers, Paul offered used and rebuilt equipment as well as new - often acquiring components at surplus and military auctions.  This left him with happy customers... and plenty of leftover scrap material.  Selling and trading the surplus scrap soon became an important part of the business.

The 1980's saw the business transition away from refrigeration toward metal recycling and selling new and salvaged metals to customers. In 1993 Paul and his youngest son David moved the business to its present location at 2605 Hwy 69S.  Paul retired in 1996 and David purchased the business, eventually changing the name to Copeland Metals.