BIRMINGHAM, England—Goodyear Dunlop U.K. Ltd. has lost the lease on its Fort Dunlop property in Birmingham, site of its Dunlop Motorsport manufacturing unit, and must vacate the property by May 2014.
Dunlop Motorsport has developed a contingency plan to ensure continued supply of its motorsport tires to key customers, said Jean-Felix Bazelin, general manager of Dunlop Motorsport Europe,
Among the possible alternatives to the situation is moving production to the company's truck tire retreading plant in Wolverhampton, England.
Goodyear Dunlop said it "remains committed to the motorsport business."
Dunlop Motorsport employs 180 at the 97-year-old manufacturing complex, which originally was a Dunlop Holdings tire factory.
The plant makes racing tires for two- and four-wheel motorsports varieties, turning out an estimated 1,500 units daily. Goodyear Dunlop said it also sources motorsport tires from several other countries but did not elaborate.
The owner of the 11-acre property, pension firm Nilgosc, is transferring the lease to Jaguar Land Rover Ltd., which is looking to expand its nearby Castle Bromwich operation.