Sumitomo

It was 1909 when Dunlop U.K invested in Japan to open a rubber factory, manufacturing bicycle tires and tubes and solid richshaw tires. (It was not stated in the global website whether Sumitomo Group actually invested in Dunlop at that time in 1909.) In 1960, Sumitomo Group invested in Dunlop Japan, and renamed Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd when Sumitomo took management of the company in 1963. Establishing multiple factories in Japan, Sumitomo developed Japan's first Formula-1 racing tire in 1976. Acquiring process begins in 1984, taking over six tire plants in the UK, Germany and France, and Dunlop Tyre Technical Division in UK, and finally Dunlop Tire Corporation in the U.S in 1986.

Over the years, Sumitomo opened multiple factories in different countries, as well as forming an alliance in the tire business with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in the U.S (but the alliance dissolved in 2015). It also merged with The Ohtsu Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd, and in 2017, Sumitomo acquire the Dunlop brand Oversea Business.



If you are interested in reading the full story of Sumitomo, you may browse the Sumitomo official website for the complete details.

Source: Sumitomo Official Website