Sumitomo and Falken passenger car tyre brands in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. The Ladysmith plant began to produce Dunlop truck and bus radial tyres in July 2018, following the second of two large investments by Sumitomo Rubber Industries to upgrade and modernise the plant. Dunlop truck and bus radial tyres produced in Ladysmith will be sold in the South African market and will also be exported to several African states from 2019. Falken Tire The Falken Tire brand was launched by Sumitomo in Japan in 1983, and was introduced in North America two years later. In January 2016, after the dissolution of the partnership with Goodyear, the Sumitomo Rubber USA factory in Tonawanda, New York began to produce Falken Tire-branded tires. SRI Sports Limited SRI Sports Limited is the subsidiary of Sumitomo that specializes in sports equipment, with the main focus being tennis and golf. SRI Sports owns Srixon, XXIO, Cleveland Golf, its subsidiary, Never Compromise, as well as rights to the Dunlop name in most parts of the world. Srixon produces tennis balls, golf balls, golf clubs, and a full range of golfing accessories. It holds several professional golfers under endorsement deals including Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry, Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley and Brooks Koepka. Cleveland Golf also makes a full range of golf equipment, and has endorsement deals with Vijay Singh and Boo Weekley among others. Following the acquisition of Cleveland Golf, SRI Sports announced their intention to consolidate its operations, with Cleveland overseeing marketing and distribution across North America, with Srixon doing the same in Europe and Australia, and Dunlop taking over in Asia. In 2018 Dunlop entered into a partnership with Tennis Australia and became the official ball of the Australian Open, in a multi-year deal. Acquisition of Dunlop brands from Sports Direct In 2016, Sumitomo Rubber filed for regulatory approval before the Philippine Competition Commission in connection with its planned acquisition of Dunlop-related wholesale, manufacturing, and licensing business from Sports Direct. The company intended to acquire the entire issued share capital of Dunlop Brands Limited, Dunlop Slazenger 1902 Limited, and Dunlop Australia Limited, and the Dunlop-related business of Dunlop Sports Group Americas, Inc. which are subsidiaries of Sports Direct. Sumitomo Rubber manufactures and sells tires under the Dunlop brand name in many countries including Japan, as well as sports goods in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. The Philippine Competition Commission has approved the regulatory filing for the said