Dunlop is a brand of tyre originally produced by the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company from the end of the 19th century, taking its name from John Boyd Dunlop. The brand is used for many other products made from rubber or with rubber components and some with a looser connection to rubber. Ownership of the brand has become fragmented over the years. Three main events contributed to this fragmentation:
in 1899, the Dunlop company sold its Australian branch. As a result, Dunlop Australia acquired the rights to the brand in Australia.
in 1985, Dunlop Rubber sold the rights to the Dunlop brand of automobile tyre, following several bad business decisions, including a disastrous joint venture with Pirelli where Dunlop unwittingly took responsibility for significant debts.
between 1996 and 1998, BTR plc sold a number of companies which used the Dunlop brand for their products.
The Dunlop brand today
Today, the Dunlop brand and logo is largely reunified under the ultimate ownership of Mike Ashley. Many companies producing products bearing the D Device have a long historical association and only these may possibly incorporate the word Dunlop in their trading name. It is amongst other things used for these products: Automobile
*owned by Sumitomo in Asia, with the exception of Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, where the brand is owned by Continental AG
*owned by Sumitomo in Africa
*owned in India by the Ruia Group
Dunlop Garage Equipment, a subsidiary garage equipment manufacturer supplying vehicle servicing equipment for cars and vans, based in Northampton, England.
Dunlop Hiflex, a brand of hydraulic hoses and pipes
Dunlop Oil & Marine, a brand of rubber hose for marine use, owned by Continental AG of Germany
Dunlop Rubber Mouldings, owned by Dunlop Industrial Products, a South African company sold by BTR in 1998
Dunlop Systems & Components, an independent company borne of a management buyout from Trelleborg AB in 2007, who in turn had purchased the business as part of a suite of companies from BTR Seibe. Based in Coventry, England, manufacturing rubber full air struts, air springs, and bellows, ECAS air suspension components such as compressors and valve blocks and also owning the rights to automotive anti-vibration systems.
Construction materials
Dunlop Adhesives, a brand of tile adhesive and grouting, owned by Ardex GmbH
Dunlop Industries of Kenya, who produce PVC floor tiles
Furniture
Dunlopillo, a brand of mattress and latex foam for furniture, owned in the UK by Steinhoff International, acquired in 2013 from Hilding Anders, which owns the brand in Scandinavia. Elsewhere it was owned by Dunlop Latex Foam Ltd and now by several companies including the Pikolin group.
Sporting goods
Dunlop Sport, a brand of golf and tennis equipment, sporting footwear and other products
