At the age of 29, Dunlap was hired by Ely Meyer, the 75-year-old owner of Sterling Pulp & Paper, to be general superintendent of the company's troubled plant in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Dunlap's challenge was to fix problems with a new pulp mill and paper machine, as well as resolve an assortment of labor and operating problems. In his first 16 weeks on the job, Dunlap had to deal with a flood at the plant (located on property where two rivers come together), an explosion that blew the roof off a building and shut half the plant down for a week, a fire in a warehouse, and a wildcat strike by the union. Without panicking, Dunlap dealt with the calamities and set in motion .efforts to reduce the likelihood of further explosions and fires. The plant had had a long history of labor problems, and Dunlap persuaded the disgruntled union leaders to halt wildcat strikes by agreeing to open lines of communication and to address the union grievances that had validity, provided the union acted responsibly. Over the next 10 years, Dunlap improved the working relationship with the union, cut costs at the plant (partly by laying off workers), changed out managers he considered were performing poorly, and played a major role in helping Sterling develop new products, increase its market share, and become more profitable. Meyer treated Dunlap like a son and was instrumental in introducing Dunlap to Judy Stringer, the bank teller he mar¬ried less than a year later.