In its centenary year, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is part of the way through an expansion plan designed to double the size of the company in terms of new tyres made. With a view to achieving this, the company has set up a joint venture in China with the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, named Dunlop Taikoo. Before the recession hit the world’s economies, Dunlop AT had planned to set up a similar facility to cater to the North American market; plans that are still very much at the forefront of the current expansion strategy. It has also recently purchased tyre-making and testing equipment from Yokohama Rubber following the Japanese manufacturer’s decision to withdraw from aircraft tyre production at the end of March 2009. The purchase and installation of the equipment at Dunlop’s Fort Dunlop plant has enabled the Birmingham-based company almost immediate access to the Boeing 777 market for example, an aircraft used heavily in domestic flights.