Pacific Dunlop was a highly diversified Australian conglomerate company that operated in, among other things, the Automotive,

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

and

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

industries. Products commercialised included

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

s, car batteries, cables,

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

, electronics,

bedding Bedding, also known as bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environm ...

, condoms. Facing financial difficulties, it rapidly spun off and sold its non-core assets before renaming itself Ansell in 2002. In 2006, it sold its tyre making business to Goodyear to focus on the manufacturing of latex products.

History

Pacific Dunlop has its roots in the Irish

Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company Dunlop Ltd. (formerly Dunlop Rubber) was a British multinational company involved in the manufacture of various natural rubber goods. Its business was founded in 1889 by Harvey du Cros and he involved John Boyd Dunlop who had re-invented and ...

, which established the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia in 1893, which included a local finishing factory and office in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to supply the market with bicycle tyres. In 1899 downturn in cycling's popularity and speculation from the parent company led to the sell-off of Dunlop's Australasian and North American operations, and the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia was floated with 80,000 shares, costing £1 per share. The company was listed on Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide stock exchanges. In 1906, the company changed its name to the Dunlop Rubber Company of Australasia.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the rise of the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

proved to be a boom in demand for rubber products, and the company grew. In 1920, the company was incorporated in Victoria and Dunlop continued to expand merging with the Perdriau Rubber Company, a manufacturer of

raincoat A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with ...

s and boots in 1929, again renaming itself Dunlop Perdriau. In 1941, it again changed its name to Dunlop Rubber Australia. in 1969, Dunlop acquired Ansell Rubber, a disposable glove and condom manufacturer, and continued to expand. Establishing operations producing footwear, bedding and clothes. During the 1970s, the company streamlined its rapidly growing operations and profits soared. In 1980, Dunlop merged with Olympic Industries, another manufacturer of tyres and cables, and owner of the Beaurepaires automotive service chain. The company was also renamed Dunlop Olympic. By 1984, the Dunlop Olympic severed all ties with Dunlop UK. In 1986, Dunlop Olympic changed its name to "Pacific Dunlop", to reflect its region-wide status. The company was listed on the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Stock Exchanges. Pacific Dunlop and Goodyear formed a joint venture that consolidated both companies tyre manufacturing operations in the

Asia Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

region named South Pacific Tyres, or SPT. SPT made tyres featuring the Dunlop, Goodyear and Olympic brands. During the 1980s, the company continued to expand, acquiring Nucleus Limited and buying assets from the failing

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company and later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods b ...

, notably Petersville Sleigh, owners of

Peters Ice Cream Peters Ice Cream is an Australian ice cream brand, now a subsidiary of European food firm Froneri. It was originally developed by an expatriate American, Frederick (Fred) Augustus Bolles Peters in 1907, using his mother's recipe. History The ...

Birds Eye Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia. The former Birds Eye Company Ltd., originally named "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." had b ...

and Edgell. By 1991, Pacific Dunlop's Ansell had become the world's largest latex product manufacturer. Pacific Dunlop became the third foreign company allowed to operate in China in 1993. By the mid 1990s, Pacific Dunlop was one of the 20 largest companies in Australia, with sales of over $6.3 billion and profits totalling the hundreds of millions. But by 1999 the company was facing financial difficulty and had a debt of $2.1 billion, Pacific Dunlop had already sold or spun off most of its food subsidiaries, as well as the Telectronics and Cochlear businesses. In 2001, it sold Pacific Brands to CVC Asia Pacific and in 2002, it was renamed Ansell, the subsidiary which now accounted for the majority of its revenue. Ansell maintained 50% ownership of South Pacific Tyres with Goodyear until 2006. SPT was closed in 2008.

References

{{Authority control Conglomerate companies of Australia Defunct companies of Australia Holding companies of Australia Companies based in Melbourne Holding companies established in 1899 Holding companies disestablished in 2002 Australian companies established in 1899 Australian companies disestablished in 2002

History

See also

References