Dunlap Industries, a zipper manufacturer located in the namesake town in Sequatchie County, helped lift the area to economic growth, thanks in large part to UT.
The Chattanooga Times-Free Press recently discussed the more than five decades of success brought on by the project, which began as an idea conceived between UT and TVA in the early 1960s.
Members of what was then the Department of Industrial Engineering—Systems Engineering has now been added to the name—came up with the idea of creating a local business that could help bring its surrounding community to a higher standard of living.
The company has since grown from a startup with three employees to a major international business, with locations across the globe.
The full story can be read at the Times-Free Press.