Steve embarked on his professional journey by joining William Ayrtons Textile Company as an apprentice fitter. He pursued his education at Openshaw College, earning City and Guilds Part 1 & 2 qualifications while working on crafting looms for the textile industry, specifically weaving wool onto the bobbins.
After completing a four-year apprenticeship, Steve joined Didsbury Engineering on April 2, 1979 in Levenshulme. In his early years at Didsbury, he worked as a mechanical fitter, initially contributing to the MOD section, where he built lifting equipment for the MOD & Armed Forces. Under the mentorship of Ken Beddall, Steve learned the intricacies of Didsbury's equipment, covering aspects such as build, testing, repair, and installation.
In 1981, Steve was assigned to install Rover Decoys on type 42 Destroyers at Clyde
Shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland. During the Gulf War, Steve played a pivotal role in building 150 hydro lifts from tornado aircrafts for BAE systems.
1995 history was made by Steve conducting the first training course carried out by Didsbury Engineering on industrial safety hoists, allowing customers to perform their own servicing.
In 1999, he travelled to Italy to train air technicians at Alinea on the 54 series EFA kits, focusing on equipment servicing.
During 2003, Steve went to Iberia Airways in Madrid, marking the first instance of training on civil air equipment. This then opened the doors for training all around the world leading to many of our service centres today.
Some testimonials from customers who carried out training with Steve have said:
“We want to express our appreciation to Steve Crone, for his professional and friendly approach with all our personnel”.
“Steve was an amazing trainer and with his guidance I can confidently say I am more than comfortable with working on any Didsbury hoists”.
“I would like to thank Steve Crone for the way he delivered the training and for his excellent communication and training skills”.
“It has been a pleasure and experience to be taught, mentored and supported by Steve Crone for many years!”.
“We would like to thank Steve Crone for delivering such an excellent and meticulous training program and professional method approach”.
Didsbury moved to Handforth in 2005, and Steve was promoted to Shop Floor team leader, overseeing the fitter team, production line, CSU repairs, dispatch area, and growth of apprentice fitters.
Steve's hard work with training lead to his appointment as the Training Manager in 2008. In this role, he conducted in-house and on-site customer training for service and operational procedures.
A dedicated professional, Steve has served at Didsbury Engineering for an impressive 45 years as of April 2024, making him the longest-serving member of the business.
Tom Ghigi, Managing Director of Didsbury Engineering added:
“We are very proud of our staff as Didsbury. In fact they are the reason we have been this successful for so long. A big part of this has been Steve who has dedicated his entire working life to Didsbury. Now were in 2024, he is still a huge part of the day to day management on the shop floor and training up the next engineers who will continue to build and service our equipment. What an amazing achievement and long may it continue!!”
Steve continues to be a pivotal part of the Didsbury Engineering team.
Looking ahead for when he finally hangs up his tools, Steve envisions a future focused on gardening and watching his beloved Manchester City win more trophies as he relishes a good old drink of Guinness.