DUNLOP BIKE RACING TYRE PRODUCTION AT RISK

The Dunlop Motorsport factory at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham — which manufactures all of the brand’s motorcycle race tyres — is in jeopardy after its landlord sold a new lease on the 11-acre site to Jaguar Land Rover for an expansion of Jaguar’s adjacent Castle Bromwich plant.

Dunlop: relocation imminent

Dunlop’s current lease expires in May 2014. Its 180 employees at the facility have been informed of this sudden development, although full implications — which will obviously involve production relocation elsewhere — are not yet clear.

“We have a robust contingency plan to ensure continued supply of our tyres to our key customers,” said Dunlop Motorsport Europe general manager Jean-Felix Bazelin in a statement. “Our aim is to assess impact and evaluate possible alternatives.”

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