Dunlop Tyres
Dunlop sport tyres
Product typeTyres
Owner
Introduced18 November 1888 (1888-11-18) in Dublin, Ireland
MarketsWorldwide
Websitedunloptires.com

Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. It was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland, in 1888.[5]

The brand is operated by Goodyear[1] in North America (passenger car & light truck), Europe, Australia and New Zealand.[6]

On October 1, 2015, Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired the Dunlop Motorcycle tyre brand in North America from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company after dissolving its 16-year global joint venture.[7]

In India, the brand is operated by Dunlop India Ltd. (having started its business there in 1926, owned by the Ruia Group).[8] In several other Asian countries (Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Russia), Africa and Latin America (except Mexico), Dunlop Tires is operated by Sumitomo Rubber Industries.[2][9] 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.[4]

Overview

In 1985, the Dunlop Rubber Company was acquired by now-defunct BTR plc, 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.[10]

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.[11]

In 2016, it was announced that Sumitomo would commence the second phase of its US$131 million investment for the upgrade and expansion of its Dunlop tyre manufacturing plant in Ladysmith, South Africa.[12]

Until May 2014, Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part of the Fort Dunlop 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, United States.

Fort Dunlop

Fort Dunlop was a motorsport manufacturing operation located in a corner of the original Dunlop factory in Erdington, 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 tyre production in the UK.[11]

Further reading

  • Tompkins, Eric (1981). The History of the Pneumatic Tyre. Dunlop Archive Project. ISBN 0-903214-14-8.

References

  1. 1 2 Trademark Lawyer – Federal Court – Dunlop aircraft tyres Archived 25 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Limited v The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company [2018] FCA 1014 (11 July 2018)
  2. 1 2 Brands Archived 6 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine on Sumitono website, 14 Aug 2020
  3. ↑ Sumitomo Rubber completes acquisition of Dunlop brand from Sports Direct Archived 30 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine on Rubber News, 5 Apr 2017
  4. 1 2 About Archived 14 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine on Dunlop Tyres Malaysia, 19 Nov 2019
  5. ↑ "History". Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Dunlop Info". Dunlop Tires. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  7. ↑ Bennett, Jeff (1 October 2015). "Goodyear, Sumitomo Dissolve Global Alliance". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  8. ↑ About us Archived 14 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Rubber India Ltd, 14 Aug 2020
  9. ↑ "Apollo Tyres sells South African business to Sumitomo Rubber for Rs 340 crore". The Economic Times. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Goodyear form 10-Q for quarter ended June 30, 1999 Archived 29 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine, p. 28.
  11. 1 2 Brown, John Murray; Foy, Henry (18 March 2014). "Dunlop plant closure announcement branded cynical". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "SRI Group". www.srigroup.co.za. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
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