Sir William Mather was born in Manchester in 1838. He became assistant manager at Mather & Platt in 1858, and was made partner in 1862 and took over running of the business in 1868, on the retirement of his uncle Colin Mather and co-founder William Wilkinson Platt. First elected as a Liberal MP in 1885, for the sourthern division of Salford. In 1892, Mather & Platt became a limited company and Sir William Mather was appointed as Chairman. He was knighted in 1902 and retired in 1916. He died at his home in the New Forest in 1920. During his working life, Sir William Mather was noted for his concerns on the conditions and the welfare of workers. He undertook research on trips abroad, most notably to America in the late 1800s, and compiled notes for various publications and lectures on the subject. In 1873, he established the Salford Iron Works' Evening Science School and in 1893, he introduced an eight hour working day for his employees.

Loris Emerson Mather was the youngest son of Sir William Mather. Born in Higher Broughton in 1886, he entered the family firm of Mather & Platt in 1905, following his elder brother's death. He was appointed to the Board in 1908 and became Chairman in 1916, on his father's retirement. The company was known for its innovation and excellence under his leadership, and he worked to support the war effort during the Second World War. He was appointed North West Production Commissioner by the Minister of Production in 1942, in recognition of his company's efforts. Loris Emerson Mather was active in youth work and education, becoming a Silver Wolf in the Scouting movement, and serving on the councils of the University of Manchester, UMIST, Chetham's Hospital School and the Manchester Grammar School.

Known as Carol, David Carol MacDonnell Mather was born in Adlington, near Macclesfield, in 1919. Son of Loris Emerson Mather. Grandson of Sir William Mather. Was briefly employed in the family firm of Mather & Platt before enlisting for service in the Welsh Guards during the Second World War. Fought under General Montgomery, who recommended him for the Military Cross after he infiltrated German-held Nijmegen during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. He continued his military career after the Second World War, serving in Palestine, Athens and with the War Office. He resigned his commission in 1962 and joined the Research Department of the Conservative Party. He was elected as Conservative MP for Esher in 1970. He was appointed opposition whip in 1975 and became government whip following the Conservative election victory in 1979. He was knighted in 1987 and retired from politics. Carol Mather also worked for various local civic and industrial organisations. He was involved in creating the first environmental clean up of Manchester codenamed 'Operation Spring Clean'. He was also involved with the Civic Trust for the North West (CTNW), the North West Development Council and Trafford Park Development Corporation. Carol Mather died in Lower Oddington, Gloucestershire in 2006.

Mather & Platt Ltd (M&P), Newton Heath was established when Colin Mather entered into a partnership with William Platt in 1852. Prior to this, in 1836, Colin Mather had entered into a partnership with his brother William, trading as William & Colin Mather, Brown Street, Salford. The brothers later leased part of the Salford Iron Works from John Platt in 1845 and entered into partnership with him. John Platt died in 1847, and his son William continued in the partnership with William and Colin Mather. In 1851, the partnership between William and Colin Mather was dissolved and the following year Colin Mather formed the partnership with William Platt that created M&P. Colin Mather's brother William died in 1858, and his son, also called William, became assistant manager of the company in the same year. In 1863, William Mather became a partner with his uncle Colin Mather and William Platt. Colin Mather and William Platt retired around 1868, and William Platt's son John joined the company. He became a partner with William Mather in 1878. William Mather travelled around the world promoting the company. During a trip to the United States in 1883 he obtained rights to manufacture Thomas Edison’s electric dynamo. Dr John Hopkinson and his brother Edward, who became head of the company’s new Electrical Department, modified the design to produce the famous Edison-Hopkinson dynamo, also known as the Manchester dynamo. M&P became highly regarded as manufacturers of centrifugal pumps. In 1873 Osborne Reynolds, Professor of Engineering at Owen’s College, designed an innovative turbine pump. M&P went on to manufacture this pump for use in water works, collieries, mills and power stations. In 1883 M&P obtained the exclusive rights to manufacture a new automatic sprinkler system, patented by Frederick Grinnell. The rights to manufacture this sprinkler system, outside North America, would prove to be a crucial turning point in the company’s fortunes. There was an enormous market for the Grinnell system in the textile industry where mills were at considerable risk from fire. A Bolton based firm, Dowson Taylor and Company, manufactured the sprinkler heads under licence, until it formally joined M&P in 1896. John Taylor’s expertise formed the basis of M&P’s hugely successful Fire Engineering Department. As the company’s business expanded in the last quarter of the nineteenth century the Salford Iron Works was enlarged. In 1873 the company acquired Drinkwater’s Mill in Deal Street and absorbed the whole of Foundry Street. Mather and Platt became a private limited company in 1892. In 1900 the company purchased a larger site at Newton Heath in Manchester. The company gradually moved its operations over to a purpose-built factory called Park Works, which had better access to the railways and waterways. Park Works expanded, eventually incorporating a canteen, a research laboratory, a school and a sports ground. The iron foundry was the last part of the Salford Iron Works to be moved before the old factory was finally sold in 1938. During the First World War part of the Park Works factory was leased to aircraft manufacturers A V Roe & Co Ltd. In 1915 the entire works came under the control of the Ministry of Munitions, as a result of the Munitions of War Act, 1915 in order to increase munitions production. The Russian Revolution in 1917 had a profound effect on the company’s export of textile machinery to textile mills in St Petersburg and Moscow. The company had created a Russian company to deal with the large numbers of orders and expand its business however, it lost control of the company and did not receive compensation until the 1980s. Sir William Mather died in 1920. Aside from his business career he had played an active role in politics and civic life. He began his parliamentary career as Liberal MP for Salford in 1885. He went on to represent the constituencies of Gorton and Rossendale in the House of Commons before retiring from politics in 1904. He was knighted in 1902 and served as a Privy Councillor from 1910. His son Loris took over the business and guided it through the turbulent years of the Great Depression. During the Second World War, Park Works was once again brought under Government control with M&P not only producing munitions, but also pumps for the war effort. Some of the equipment manufactured at the Park Works was shipped to the Soviet Union for use on the Eastern Front. After the war ended M&P relocated its Food Machinery Department to the former Royal Ordnance factory at Radcliffe in order to make more space at the Park Works. After the initial economic austerity of the immediate post-war period, this side of the business expanded with increased consumer demand for foodstuffs in the 1950s. As M&P held the exclusive licence for manufacturing the Grinnell sprinkler system the company enjoyed a dominant position in this lucrative market. However, when these rights expired in the 1970s the firm entered terminal decline in a climate of increased competition from abroad. In 1978, the company was taken over by the Australian-based company Wormald International. Wormald International was originally founded by Joseph and Harry Wormald whose brother John worked for Dowson Taylor and Company. Today an Indian company continues to manufacture pumps under the M&P name as a subsidiary of the German multinational Wilo A.G.