Dunlop Motorsport Europe has completed the transfer of race tyre production to Goodyear Dunlop plants in France and Germany from its Fort Dunlop factory in Erdington, where the firm’s lease on the 99-year-old factory is expiring.
Dunlop Motorsport, a unit of Goodyear Dunlop U.K. Ltd., transferred capacity for competition car tyres to a Goodyear Dunlop plant in Hanau, Germany, which produces ultra-high-performance tyres and is the base of the main Dunlop European Technical center, and competition motorcycle tyres to Montluçon, France, which makes both street and track two-wheeler tyres.
Goodyear Dunlop did not specify what the transfer process cost or what has become of the 240 or so employees at the Erdington plant.
Goodyear Dunlop disclosed in May 2013 it had lost the lease on the Fort Dunlop property and had begun to develop a “contingency plan to ensure continued supply of our motorsport tyres to our key customers,” according to Jean-Felix Bazelin, general manager, Dunlop Motorsport Europe.
Jack Dromey, a Labour Party member of Parliament for Erdington, tweeted on May 30, the day production ceased: “A day of shame as Goodyear Dunlop ends 125 years of Birmingham manufacturing at Dunlop Motorsport factory in Erdington.”
He followed up a day later with: “The Dunlop Motorsport workers can be proud of who they are, good men & women, loyal, long-serving but betrayed by Goodyear 3,500 miles away.”
In addition to the manufacturing and executive units in Europe, Dunlop Motorsport maintains a fleet of 23 service trucks to transport tyres throughout Europe to more than 200 races and tests per year.
Operations are under the overall control of Mr. Bazelin. Gary Wassell handles the car side of the business and Jason Dee the motorcycles.
Other senior engineers and race management figures include Patrice Omont, director, Tyre Technology, Motorcycle and Motorsports.
In 2013, Dunlop Motorsport is involved in: World Endurance Championships; European Le Mans Series; British Touring Car Championship; Britcar Championships; Dutch Supercar Challenge; Euro F3 Open; International GT Open; and the Australian V8 Supercars; and the 24-hour endurance classics at Le Mans, France; Nurburgring, Germany; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
On the two-wheeler side, road racing: Moto2 and Moto3 in the MotoGP Series; World Endurance; AMA Superbikes; Australian Superbikes; Spanish Open Nation Championships; and the Isle of Man TT and IDM Intl. German Championship. In off-road: MX1; MX2; World Enduro; and World Supercross.