Dunlop was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland, in 1890. Since then Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. Nowadays The brand is operated by Goodyear in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
at the beginning of 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.
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. Until May 2014, Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part Fort Dunlop site in Birmingham as its UK office. In the UK, the company operates as a sales organization, importing tyres from manufacturing plants around the world, including Germany, Slovenia and Poland. Goodyear Dunlop joint venture is managed from sites in Luxembourg and Brussels, which report to Goodyear in Akron, Ohio, United States.
At the year 2015, Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired the Dunlop Motorcycle tire brand in North America from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company after dissolving its 16-year global joint venture. In several other Asian countries (Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Russia), Africa and Latin America (except Mexico), Dunlop Tires is operated by Sumitomo Rubber Industries. 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.
Rahimafrooz Distribution Ltd. (RDL) is the sole distributor of one of the most prestigious global tyre brand Dunlop in Bangladesh. They are providing numerous products for different type of motorcycles and other vehicles.