In 1926, Dunlop Rubber Limited became the first company in India to set up a tyre company in West Bengal. The MRF (Madras Rubber Factory Limited) followed its footsteps and entered the tyre manufacturing market in 1946 although it ventured into manufacturing tread rubber in 1952. Today, the India tyre industry employs as many as one million people including dealers, retraders, and growers of natural rubber.