Dunlop Tyres is a
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
of
tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. It was founded by
pneumatic tyre pioneer
John Boyd Dunlop
John Boyd Dunlop (5 February 1840 – 23 October 1921) was a Scottish people, Scottish inventor and veterinary surgeon who spent most of his career in Ireland. Familiar with making Natural rubber, rubber devices, he invented the first practica ...
in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, Ireland, in 1888.
The brand is operated by
Goodyear in North America (passenger car & light truck), Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
On October 1, 2015,
Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired the Dunlop motorcycle tyre brand in North America from Goodyear after dissolving its 16-year global joint venture.
In India, the brand is operated by Dunlop India Ltd. (having started its business there in 1926, owned by the Ruia Group).
[About us]
, Rubber India Ltd, 14 Aug 2020 In several other Asian countries (such as Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia), South Africa and Latin America (except Mexico), Dunlop Tires is operated by Sumitomo.
on Sumitono website, 14 Aug 2020 In Malaysia, the Dunlop Tyre brand has, since 2012, been operated by
Continental AG, which manufactures Dunlop branded tyres for sale in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
[About]
on Dunlop Tyres Malaysia, 19 Nov 2019
Overview
In 1985, the
Dunlop Rubber Company was acquired by now-defunct
BTR plc
BTR plc was a British Multinational Corporation, multinational industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate company. It was headquartered in London, England.
The company was originally founded in 1924 as the British Goodrich Rubber Co. Ltd ...
, and Sumitomo acquired the rights to manufacture and market Dunlop branded road tyres. Sumitomo did not acquire any Dunlop company. In 1997 Sumitomo gained agreement to use the Dunlop name in its corporate name, and changed the name of its
UK subsidiary to "Dunlop Tyres Ltd."
In 1999, Sumitomo and Goodyear began a joint venture by which Sumitomo continued to manufacture all Japanese-made tyres under the Dunlop name, while Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company bought 75% of the European and North American tyre businesses of Sumitomo.
The company has extensive manufacturing operations throughout the world. With the closure of the Washington plant in 2006, Goodyear Dunlop ceased mainstream car and lorry tyre production in the UK.
In 2016, it was announced that Sumitomo would commence the second phase of its 131 million investment for the upgrade and expansion of its Dunlop tyre manufacturing plant in Ladysmith,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Until May 2014, Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part of the
Fort Dunlop
Fort Dunlop (), is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers. At one tim ...
site in Birmingham as its UK office. In the UK, the company operates as a sales organisation, importing tyres from manufacturing plants around the world, including Germany, Slovenia and Poland.
The Goodyear Dunlop joint venture is managed from sites in Luxembourg and Brussels, which report to Goodyear in
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
, United States.
Fort Dunlop
Fort Dunlop
Fort Dunlop (), is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers. At one tim ...
was a motorsport manufacturing operation located in a corner of the original Dunlop factory in
Erdington
Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutt ...
, Birmingham, established in 1891 until May 2014. This factory produced specialised vintage, motorcycle and touring car tyres, and produced about 300,000 specialised racing tyres per year. On 30 May 2014, the Birmingham factory ceased tyre production, ending Dunlop motorsport tyre production in the UK.
See also
*
Dunlop Bridge
The Dunlop Bridge is a landmark advertising footbridge sponsored by Dunlop Tyres, located at several racing circuits around the world. The oldest surviving example of this bridge is at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the home of the 24 Hours of Le Mans ...
Further reading
*
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Sumitomo Group
Continental AG
1888 establishments in Ireland
Irish brands
Tires