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Dunlop Building

  • Thread starter Thread starter Wendy
  • Start date Start date
From https://kevinapears.wixsite.com/dunlop-golf-balls/history

Scottish born Vet John Boyd Dunlop founded Dunlop in 1888. The company initially manufactured rubber tires. In 1907 they started to make golf balls, the first attempt being a bramble type ball called "The Dunlop Ball". Other balls such as The Dunlop, The Orange Spot, Junior, Manor and V all quickly followed as Dunlop tried to establish themselves in this new arena. Early production was at Manor Mills, Aston in Birmingham. However Fort Dunlop, once the worlds largest factory was built 1916 and ball and tire production was moved there. ​

It was the introduction of the Dunlop lattice mesh ball in 1922, first patented by Dunlop employee Albert Penfold in 1912 which allowed Dunlop to take the golf ball world by storm. From the early 1920's until the 1990's Dunlop balls were regularly used by winners of the Open Golf Championship and in many overseas championships too. Cotton, Daly, Locke, Faulkner, Thomson, Charles, Di Vincenzo, Player, Jacklin, Lyle and Strange all used Dunlops. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus have used Dunlop balls at times in their careers too.​

 
Dyan said:
Hi

I worked for Racing Division from 1960 to 1968 do you remember Stan who used to come round in his mobile van and serve up the BEST bacon sarnies I have ever had. Boss of Racing Div was Dick Jeffries, there was Mike Princep, Alan (Chalkie) White, Parick Monahan (we got rid of him) Harold Kershaw was in charge of the Garage, Derrick Adams, John Tonks, ALex Maskell, Ian Mills (who became and MP) Norman ?(names gone) Arthur Davidson, Jimmy ? (he was only 16 and the boys gave him hell). Great times, I came out to NZ to run the Racing Division here for 10 years.
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Mark, many thank for posting this it a super article. I would be very interested to know where the workers houses were built?

I do recall the Dunlop bus service with stops along Holly Lane.

It is interesting how the whole organisation was structured itself around it workforce providing local employment and a health and wellbeing infrastructure. The likes of Jack Welch and his theories of the small-company atmosphere.
 
Morturn said:
Mark, many thank for posting this it a super article. I would be very interested to know where the workers houses were built?

I do recall the Dunlop bus service with stops along Holly Lane.

It is interesting how the whole organisation was structured itself around it workforce providing local employment and a health and wellbeing infrastructure. The likes of Jack Welch and his theories of the small-company atmosphere.
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I started at Fort Dunlop in 1982 - as I understood it a lot of the workers houses were built along the Tyburn Road. I used to get the 40A bus from Lozells Rd initially (we lived in Newtown then), and got off at the still extant tram shelters in Holly Lane. Various things changed over the years - K & B blocks went to JLR, the proving ground became the Fort Shopping Centre, a new Dynamics building was built behind tyre technical and the medical centre became the new canteen when the old canteen, shop and bank closed. When Sumitomo took over Dunlop in 1985 the bottom of south offices, plus tyre 6 and tyre 2 were fenced off as Dunlop Aero, as this was not included in the sale. Commercial Offices, Computer Annexe and everything at the top of the site were replaced by Tyrefort in 2002, the IT dept moved into the tyre technical building and slowly the rest of the site was raised to the ground - mostly acquired by JLR. Other factories at Washington, Speke, Coventry, Patricroft, Inchinnan, etc (and even Goodyear's huge factory in Wolverhampton) went with them. Sports field is now warehouses, and test fleet garages are now Spitfire Industrial Park. Dunlop Chemical Products (or Dunlop Semtex as it was called then - cannot think why they changed the name.....) is now B & Q. East Drive and Chester Rd Gate became the end of the Heartlands Spine Road. Buildings on the west of the site became Wingfoot Way (a nod to Goodyear). Now what is left of the massive UK Dunlop and Goodyear organisations (called Goodyear GB Ltd) is in 1 and a bit floors of a rented building on the Birmingham Industrial Park.

Perhaps Donald Trump is right - there is something to be said for tariffs to protect local manufacturing industry? Discuss........
 
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