Arthur Keen (23 January 1835 – 8 February 1915) was a British entrepreneur, the Keen in engineering firm Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds, later GKN plc.
Early years
His early years are uncertain but he was born in Cheshire, perhaps near Northwich, the son of a farmer. His early education seems to have been meagre before he joined the London and North Western Railway, probably in some clerical capacity. Somewhere around 1855, he was appointed a goods agent for the railway and relocated to Smethwick where his job led to a network of industrial contacts including Thomas Astbury (1810–1862) who introduced him to Francis Watkins. In 1858, Keen married Astbury's daughter, Hannah. The couple were to go on to parent ten children in half a century of family life in Edgbaston.
Industrialist
Watkins was trying to market his patent nut-making machine in England and Keen saw the potential of the business. The firm of Watkins and Keen was established with capital from Astbury. The firm prospered and in 1864 was launched as a limited company, Watkins retiring a few years later. Keen continued to expand the business through a series of astute mergers and acquisitions. Keen's objective was to establish himself as the market leader in fasteners through aggressive pricing and economies of scale.