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British Industrial History

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Dunlop Rubber Co

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September 1902.
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April 1908. Advert in French.
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1935. The drawings for the commemorative plaque on the Dunlop Social and Entertainment Hall, Fort Dunlop, Erdington, Birmingham.
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1 April 1936 Endorsement from Davies Brothers (Chester).
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of 150 to 152 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC. Works: Para Mills, Aston Cross, Birmingham (1914)

as Dunlop Rubber Co. Ltd - Goods Division of Fort Dunlop, Erdington, Birmingham, and of Cambridge Street, Manchester. Telephone Central (Manchester) 2131. Telegraphic Address: "Rubber, Manchester". (1937)

as Dunlop Clothing and Weatherproofs Ltd of Bridport Road, Edmonton, London, N18. (1947)

as Dunlop Rubber Co Dunlopillo Division, Rice Lane, Walton, Liverpool. (1947)

as Dunlop Rubber Co. Ltd (Sports Division) of St. James's House, St. James's Street, London, SW1. (1929 and 1947) Sole Distributors of Sports Goods of Dunlop Rubber Co.

See also -

1889 The name Dunlop Rubber Company was first used for a private company created to serve as one of the manufacturing units for the Pneumatic Tyre and Booths Cycle Agency Ltd [1].

1896 Byrne Brothers India Rubber Co was set up[2]

1896 Rubber Tyre Manufacturing Co was floated as a public company to take over the Byrne Brothers India Rubber Co.[3]

1901 The Rubber Tyre Manufacturing Co was purchased by the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co [4]. This included the Dunlop Rubber Co which was of comparatively small account at that time[5]

1907 In a re-structuring of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co, that company set up a new company, the Dunlop Rubber Co by offering existing shareholders the opportunity to subscribe for shares to provide capital for the new company [6].

1910 Exhibited rubber fabric for use in dirigible balloons at the Olympia exhibition[7]

1912 August. Financial issues between the company and the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. It was agreed to amalgamate the two companies [8] with transfer of assets and goodwill to this company [9]. The Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co would change its name to the Parent Tyre Co to avoid confusion as it continued to pay dividends to its shareholders [10].

1912 Purchased 200 acres of land to build Fort Dunlop. [11]

c.1913 Acquired Coventry Rim and Wheel Co; formation of Dunlop Rim and Wheel Co as a subsidiary[12].

1914 Established the Castleton Mills, near Rochdale to manufacture the fabric which would be the foundation of Dunlop pneumatic tyres.

1914 Manufacturers of Dunlop pneumatic tyres for motors and cycles. [13]

1919 New issue of shares. A. L. Ormrod is Chairman, [14]

1922 Eric Geddes became chairman

1924 Geddes initiated a policy of acquisitions at Dunlop to diversify the product range beyond tyres to general rubber products. The productive capacity of Fort Dunlop was greatly extended in the years 1925–8 and Geddes paid particular attention to manufacturing layout, time and motion studies, and the exploration of management ideas.

1925 Eric Geddes is chairman. Issue of shares [15] to pay for acquisition of various companies which would broaden the business into general rubber goods trade:

1927 Stand No. 113 at the 1927 Motor Cycle and Cycle Show at Olympia.[16]

1929 British Industries Fair Advert for Tennis Machine, Balls, Rackets; Racket Presses; Golf Balls; Hockey Sticks; Bowls; Football Bladders; Sundries. (Sports Goods Section - Stand No. B.16) [17]

1931 Dunlop Rubber Company went into liquidation.

1933 Concentration into 4 divisions. As a result a number of the subsidiary companies were liquidated with their business carried on by the parent company: [18]

1935 Eric Geddes is Chairman. [19]

1935 Mr H. L. Kenward (see May 1935 image) is the Sales Director for the Dunlop Rubber Co and has also been elected President of the Motor Trade Association.

1936 Acquired India Tyre and Rubber Co[20]

1937 British Industries Fair Advert for Industrial and Mechanical Rubber Goods. Driving, Conveyor and elevator Belting hose. Anti-corrosion rubber. rubber Rollers. Rubber Blocks for road lines and pedestrian crossings. Rubber Flooring. Gloves. (Engineering/Metals/Quarry, Roads and Mining/Transport Section - Stand No. D.609) [21]

1938 J. George Beharrell (Chairman); C. A. Proctor and John L. Collyer are joint MD appointed this year. Other directors include Clive L. Ballieu and S. Hardman Lever [22]

1939 See Aircraft Industry Suppliers

1947 British Industries Fair Advert for Clothing (at Earls Court: Ground Floor, Stand No. 240) including Rainwear, Sportswear, Leisurewear, Skiwear; Sports Equipment (at Olympia: 1st Floor, Stand No. F.1805) for Tennis, Golf, Badminton, Squash, Hockey, Table Tennis, Darts; Dunlopillo (at Earls Court: 1st Floor, Stand No. 679) for Latex foam cushioning, Mattresses, furniture upholstery, cushions, hospital equipment; Industrial (at Birmingham) for Rubber Goods, Belting, Hose, Anti-corrosion rubber, Gloves, Rubber Floors. (Textiles Section) [23]

1959 Acquired Slazenger and John Bull Rubber Co[24]

1960 Organised in 9 main divisions[25]

1961 Group employees are 100,000. Sales in 1959 were £261m. Manufacture tyres, tubes, brakes, aviation equipment, adhesives, flooring, footwear, hose, belting, rubber goods, sports goods and marine equipment. [26]

1962 The company operated over 100 factories, at home and abroad[27]

1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Car tyres and tools. [28]

1968 Testing of aircraft tyres at Fort Dunlop. [29]

1968 Queen's Award to Industry for Export Achievement. [30]

1971 Dunlop merged with Pirelli of Italy to form the world's third largest tyre company after Goodyear and Firestone. The merger was not a takeover by either company, but a joint venture arrangement where each company took minority interests in the other's subsidiaries. [31]

1979 The company closed its tyre factory in Speke, near Liverpool.

1981 Split partnership with Pirelli. Pirelli was not profitable throughout the entire duration of the merger, and by April 1981 'Dunlop nearly stopped making tyres in Britain'.[32]

The company once had extensive manufacturing operations in the UK. With the closure of the Washington plant in 2006, Goodyear Dunlop have ceased mainstream tyre production in the UK. There is still a bespoke Motorsport manufacturing site on a corner of the original Fort Dunlop factory in Erdington, Birmingham, opened in 1891, which supports specialised vintage, motorcycle and touring car tyre production. The factory produces around 300,000 specialised Racing tyres per year which are shipped all over the globe.

The main Birmingham site has been extensively redeveloped with a modern shopping centre (The Fort Shopping Centre) and several logistics warehouses. The iconic former head office building is being redeveloped into a combined residential, office and hotel complex. This can be observed between junction 5 and 6 of the M6, on the east side of the motorway.

Notes
 Robert William Thomson (1822 - 1873) invented the first vulcanised rubber pneumatic tyre. Thomson patented his pneumatic tyre in 1845, his invention worked well but was too costly to catch on. Because of this precedent, John Boyd Dunlop's patent was rendered invalid.

[3] Manchester Archives. Records, 1930s-1950s: correspondence and articles on the company’s war work; report of a visit to its factories in South Africa, 1955; photographs including the Gaythorn plant, Manchester, the Gateshead factory, Newcastle upon Tyne, and barrage balloon production and workers. These records can be found in the personal papers of Charles Hemm, Director of the company. (M536/)

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. ↑ National Archives [1]
  2. ↑ The Times, Mar 19, 1962
  3. ↑ The Times, Jun 13, 1896
  4. ↑ The Times, May 15, 1901
  5. ↑ The Times, Dec 02, 1919
  6. ↑ The Times, Wednesday, Mar 13, 1907
  7. ↑ The Times, Mar 14, 1910
  8. ↑ The Times, Saturday, Aug 17, 1912
  9. ↑ The Times, Saturday, Aug 31, 1912
  10. ↑ The Times, 12 February 1913
  11. ↑ The Times, Tuesday, Dec 02, 1919
  12. ↑ National Archives [2]
  13. ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
  14. ↑ The Times, Tuesday, Dec 02, 1919
  15. ↑ The Times, 16 December 1925
  16. ↑ Bicycling News
  17. ↑ 1929 British Industries Fair Advert 140; and p53
  18. ↑ The Times, 30 August 1933
  19. ↑ The Times, Friday, May 10, 1935
  20. ↑ The Times, Aug 13, 1936
  21. ↑ 1937 British Industries Fair Advert p618; and p356
  22. ↑ The Times, Wednesday, Apr 06, 1938
  23. ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 462; and p88
  24. ↑ The Times, Jan 07, 1959
  25. ↑ The Times, May 09, 1960
  26. ↑ 1961 Guide to Key British Enterprises
  27. ↑ The Times, Mar 19, 1962
  28. ↑ 1963 Motor Show
  29. ↑ The Engineer of 22nd March 1968 p477
  30. ↑ The Engineer of 26th April 1968 p650
  31. ↑ Wikipedia
  32. ↑ The Engineer 1981/04/23 and 1981/04/30
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