Dunlop is a brand of tyres owned by various companies around the world. Founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland in 1890, it is owned and operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In India, the brand is owned by Dunlop India Ltd. whose parent company is the Ruia Group. In several other Asian countries, Africa and Latin America it is operated bySumitomo Rubber Industries. In Malaysia, the Dunlop Tyre brand has, since 2012, been wholly owned by Continental AG, which manufactures Dunlop branded tyres for sale in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. In 1985, Dunlop Rubber Company was acquired by 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. 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 Rubber Industries would commence the second phase of its 131 million investment for the upgrade and expansion of its Dunlop tire manufacturing plant in Ladysmith, South Africa. Until May 2014, Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part of the site with their British main office. In the UK, the company operates as a sales organisation, importing tyres from manufacturing plants around the world, including China, 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
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.
