1853-1967, machine tool maker and crane manufacturer, Salford. Craven Brothers was formed in 1853, at Dawson Croft Mill, Salford by brothers Greenwood and William Craven. Their primary function was to make machinary tools for locomotives but they soon branched out into other machinary areas particularly armaments. In 1900, the company moved to a 25 acre-site in Reddish, near Stockport, called the Vauxhall Works. By the early 20th century they had become best known for their cranes, but also made planing machines, radial drills and slotting machines. During the World Wars, the company came under governmental control and after the depression of the First World War the company managed to stay open because of its good export business particularly with Russia. In 1928, Craven Brothers merged with Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co. Ltd, Joshua Buckton & Co. Ltd and Thomas Shanks & Co. Ltd however the factories of these comapnies closed and all moved to the Reddish factory of the Craven brothers. In 1961 the Denton branch works were sold. In 1967 the company was bought by Staveley Industries Ltd and the Reddish factory closed in 1970.

Engineers and machinists, established in 1842 when William Muir left Whitworths and set up his own workshop in Berwick Street, Manchester, later moving to Oxford Street in 1847 and then to Miller's Lane, Salford. The company was renamed Muir Machine Tools in 1937 and was acquired by David Brown and Sons in 1944.

The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, opened in 1896 as the result of the merger of the Pendleton Mechanics Institute and the Salford Working Men's College. The name of the institute changed in 1921 to the Royal Technical College, Salford. It continued to operate under this name until 1959, when it split into two organisations: The Royal College of Advanced Technology and Peel Park Technical College. The institute is a precursor of the University of Salford.

William Owen was born in Blackburn in 1881. He studied engineering at the Royal Technical Institution, Salford, from 1895-1902. He joined William Muir & Co as a draughtsman in 1908 and was chief draughtsman by the time he left in 1927. He took work as the head of research and development at Craven Brothers Limited in 1927 and retired from this company in 1955. At both companies, he was a specialist in gear hobbing machines. He travelled to Japan for William Muir & Co in relation to a contract for the Imperial Japanese Navy. He published papers on his research and development activity in The Engineer and the American Machinist, as well as giving lectures on gear hobbing machinery.