Dunlop was started and owned by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In other parts of the world, the Dunlop brand is owned by other companies. In India the brand is owned by Dunlop India Ltd. whose parent company is the Ruia Group, and in the rest of Asia, Africa and Latin America by Sumitomo Rubber Industries.
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 United Kingdom.
Dunlop maintained a motorsport manufacturing operation located in a corner of the original Dunlop factory (nicknamed “Fort Dunlop”) 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.
The Dunlop GP Racer D209 tyre has been chosen repeatedly as a control tyre for the R&G Racing GSX-R Trophy motorcycle race. It has also been chosen for the Henderson Harley-Davidson XR1200 Trophy and Focused Events KTM RC8 Cup race.[spacer icon=”fa-arrow-circle-o-down” style=”1″]
The main Birmingham building has been redeveloped extensively as a combined residential, office and hotel complex, with a modern shopping facility (The Fort Shopping Centre), car dealerships and several logistics warehouses. It is located between Junction 5 and 6 of the M6, on the north side of the motorway.
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.
Dunlop Tyres is the sole tyre supplier to the British Touring Car Championship (since 2003), V8 Supercars Championship (since 2002), Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (since 2011) and European Le Mans Series GTE class (since 2015). Dunlop also supplies tyres to the Japanese Super GT’s Nakajima Racing, classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Moto2 & Moto3 classes of the MotoGP Championship.[spacer icon=”fa-arrow-circle-o-down” style=”1″]
Easa Saleh Al Gurg Tyres, Batteries & Accessories LLC, which was established in 1978 is the sole agent for Dunlop Tyres for Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Over the years, the company has successfully established the Dunlop brand with a team of dedicated and experienced personnel and is now a major player in the tyre industry in the UAE.
Easa Saleh Al Gurg Tyres, Batteries and Accessories LLC has developed a large distribution network covering various segments like: Dealers, Government accounts, Transport Companies, Institutions, Fleets accounts, etc.
The company also runs Dunlop ProShop – a retail tyre service centre that offers superior tyre sales and services. The centres offer a complete range of tyre related services including fitting, balancing, wheel alignment, rotation. Our team also provides advice on tyres. A diverse, trained and experienced team of 40+ professionals serve customers using state of the art equipment at 8 retail outlets spread across Dubai, Ajman, and Ras Al Khaimah.
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[alert color=”A0A191″ title=”Did you know…”]Founded in 1960, by H.E. Easa Saleh Al Gurg, KCVO, CBE, the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group LLC (ESAG), is a multidivisional conglomerate with 24 companies. The Group has a range of diverse product and business interests that predominantly include trading, retail, building and construction, industrial and joint ventures. With an active presence throughout UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar; its reach stretches across Asia, Middle East, and African continent, parts of America, Australia and New Zealand.[/alert]
