In 1851 he was a machine maker with 523 men
Samuel Lees founded a roller making works in the 1790s, it was called the Soho Works. His second son Asa Lees (1816-62) inherited the premises. He expanded the business, exporting fustian power looms to St Petersberg . He abandoned looms to concentrate on manufacturing preparation and spinning machinery. The Soho Cotton mills was converted to a Mule carriage works. Asa Lees became a limited company in 1868, four years after Platts and the shares were quoted on the Oldham share market until the 1890s. It never published its accounts, though its dividends were consistently higher than Platts, and remained profitable in 1928 when Platts made a loss. They were conservative in their trading, dealing only with reliable firms. They did not push for exports. They experienced rapid expansion in the 1880s under the management of Robert Taylor (1823–1912) and production peaked in 1906 when they were employing 3000 men.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asa_Lees