Imperial Chemical Industries plc came into existence in 1926, following the merger of Nobel Industries Ltd, Brunner, Mond and Company Ltd, the United Alkali Company, and the British Dyestuffs Corporation. The new company was called Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. Its operations began in 1927, with 33,000 people employed in five main product areas: alkali products, explosives, metals, general chemicals, and dyestuffs. In 1928, its head office opened in Millbank, London. The former British Dyestuffs Corporation works at Blackley, Manchester became the home of ICI's Dyestuffs Division. The main factory for the General Chemicals Division was at Billingham, County Durham. ICI's Research and Development Department developed a number of significant products in the early 20th century, including the acrylic plastic Perspex in 1932, Dulux paint (in partnership with DuPont) in 1932, polyethylene in 1937 and polyethylene terephthalate fibre (known as Terylene and PET) in 1941. The work on polyethylene was led by the Dyestuffs Division at Blackley until a new Plastics Division was established at Welwyn Garden City in 1937. In 1971, the Dyestuffs Division merged with parts of the Nobel Division to become known as the Organics Division. Later mergers with other specialty chemical producers created ICI Colours and Fine Chemicals, which then became ICI Specialties. From 1940, ICI Dyestuffs was involved in the manufacture of Nylon fabrics at its Huddersfield plant, and in 1964 the company established ICI Fibres to manage its successful textile, fibres and Nylon production. The Nylon part of the business was sold to DuPont in 1992. In 1944, as Imperial Chemical (Pharmaceuticals) Ltd, the company was involved in the development of penicillin at its Trafford Park works. Because of its success with pharmaceuticals, the company established ICI Pharmaceuticals in 1957. In 1993, ICI Pharmaceuticals and other bioscience divisions became Zeneca, along with ICI Specialties. Zeneca merged with Astra AB in 1994 to form Astra Zeneca Plc. General Chemical production continued until the acquisition of ICI by Akzo Nobel in 2007.

The Manchester Technical School was formed out of the Manchester Mechanics' Institute in 1883. Manchester Mechanics' Institute member John Henry Reynolds developed a programme of classes that served the industrial needs of the Manchester region, converting the Mechanics' Institute into the Technical School as a result. Manchester Corporation began funding the Technical School in 1892, when it changed its name to the Manchester Municipal School of Technology. From 1905, students at the Technical School could take degrees from the Victoria University of Manchester, although most of the courses provided professional and technical, rather than academic, qualifications, with most of the teaching delivered through evening classes for students who were at work during the day. After World War 1 the school became known as the Manchester Municipal College of Technology, offering a successful programme of classes in science and technology until 1945, when it became the Manchester College of Technology. The College became an independent university college in 1956, and ten years later was renamed the University of Manchester Institute for Science and Technology.

The British Rayon Research Association was formed in 1946 to investigate the chemical and physical properties of rayon and rayon fabrics. Its main constituent member was the British Rayon Federation. Its funds came from industrial partners and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Its offices and laboratories were initially located close to Ringway in Manchester, but moved to Heald Green in 1955. Overlaps with the research work of the British Cotton Industry Research Association led to the merger of the two associations to form the Cotton, Silk, and Man-Made Fibres Research Association, also known as the Shirley Institute, in 1961.