Tributes have been paid to a Bradford businessman who made his millions after revolutionising the textile industry.

Professor Leonard Shaw died at the age of 98 in November at his home in Guernsey, where he moved after founding and building up Shaw Moisture Meters, which is still trading in Bradford nearly 60 years after it started.

Tim Peters, general manager of Shaw Moisture Meters, said he had been saddened by news of Mr Shaw’s death.

He said: “Most of us would be glad to achieve one tenth of what he achieved during his life. He was driven, motivated and very interested in technology.

“Even at the age of 96 or 97 he bought an iPad and he was actively using that to research the web and look at things.

“He was fascinated by any modern technology.”

An accomplished pianist, Mr Shaw was born in Marshfields, Bradford, in 1912 and attended Carlton Street School.

His original ambition was to become a professional musician, but he first made his name in the city as the Bradford Radio Doctor, a moniker he earned while repairing radio sets from his small shop in Manchester Road.

He quit the radio and television business after moving to a larger shop in Market Street, Bradford, when the field started to be dominated by large companies.

Mr Peters said Mr Shaw revolutionised the textile industry by developing an answer to one of the major problems faced by the then booming textile industry in the city – to accurately, and quickly, measure the moisture content of fibres.

In 1952, Mr Shaw unveiled the first moisture meter which quickly became a success, with every textile manufacturer in the country buying into the tool, which allowed them to avoid being over-charged for their wool.

The rapid growth required the business to expand and so Mr Shaw bought the much larger premises in Rawson Road, Bradford.

The secret behind the sensor which forms the heart of the moisture meters was always closely guarded.

It also formed the basis of the business expanding into further areas, with the company becoming world-wide leaders in the market.

Today, Shaw Moisture Meters is based in Bolton Road, Bradford. It produces a variety of meters used all over the world by a range of industries to measure moisture in industrial gases.

The success of the company was honoured with a Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1986 and Mr Shaw’s work in the field of hygrometry was recognised by The Royal Institute in London, for which he was made an Honorary Professor of Hygrometer Technology in 2000.