. James Watt improved the steam engine and patented the new engine. His industrialist friend, Mathew Boulton manufactured the new model. . But for years he could find no buyers. . Steam engines were used in cotton and wool industries, mining, canal and iron works. . Steam engines were not used in any of the other industries till much later in the century. . So, even the most powerful new technology that enhanced the productivity of labour manifold was slow to be accepted by industrialists.