Ben Curtis steps into the room with a gentle calmness. There is a touch of apprehension at first, softened by an easy kindness, yet behind his quiet manner you can sense the quick-firing synapses of someone who thinks fast, solves fast and sees patterns before others notice they are there.
Problem solving is core to who he is. It is not just a skill but a source of pure satisfaction. When something clicks into place or a fault finally reveals its cause you see a spark of joy in him that is unmistakable.
In his twenties, he sits in that interesting middle ground where the unpolished potential of early working life have smoothed out, yet the wider plateau of mid-career still feels a long way off. He is very much in his stride.
His journey with Texcel began eight years ago in November 2017 after spotting an advertisement for an engineering apprenticeship. It should have been a straightforward interview. Instead, it became a small personal odyssey involving a missed bus, rising panic and an Uber fare that took a painful swing at his student bank balance. But he made it. Waiting for him was Ronnie Miller, his soon-to-be boss and mentor, who saw something in Ben almost immediately.
Walking through Texcel that day was, in his words was, “unique”. He had never seen anything like it before. The high-tech machinery, the clinical precision, the rhythm of everything working in sync. It all looked impossibly modern and cutting edge. And even as a nervous teenager, he felt it in his gut. This was where he wanted to be. This was the sort of place he wanted to grow.
From school projects to real-world engineering
Before joining Texcel, Ben had studied general engineering alongside business, finance and product design at his local academy. A mix of classroom learning and hands-on practical tasks gave him his first spark. He realised he loved solving problems. He enjoyed making things work. Traditional academic routes had never inspired him in the same way. School pushed hard for university, and socially there was an assumption that university was the “better” option. But he knew himself well enough to recognise a simple truth. He learns best by doing.
His love of building computers and gaming only added fuel to that fire. So when the chance appeared to join Texcel as an apprentice, he grabbed it with both hands.
Those early days were a shock to the system. Apprentices naturally start on the low-risk tasks. Simple, repetitive, methodical. “Monotonous” in Ben’s candid phrasing. But necessary. The kind of foundational work where your skills build one layer at a time. He spent four days in the business and one at college, backed by a small group of fellow apprentices. That team became crucial. They compared notes, shared frustrations, celebrated tiny breakthroughs. “The learning curve is massive,” he says, “so having other apprentices around you makes such a difference.”
A shaky system and a steady determination
Midway through his apprenticeship the training provider folded. Everything had to be moved to Leigh UTC. Reports changed, formats changed, systems changed and somehow he and the team worked through it. This instability is unfortunately common in UK engineering training. Colleges withdraw programmes, funding shifts and standards change. The young people caught in the middle simply have to cope. Ben coped, he kept going and after three years he completed the apprenticeship in full.
He joined Texcel as a Technician for a year and then moved into a Test Development role where he has spent the past three and a half years. This is where he found his groove.
Thriving in Test Development
The role suits him. It is varied broad and full of challenge. Ben supports customers by working on test jigs, fault finding, calibration inventory, builds and quality issues. His capacity to diagnose a problem quickly has made him increasingly valuable to the wider department. As his technical skills have grown so has his responsibility. More and more customers now meet Ben directly for support because he explains complex ideas clearly and without ego.
One of his favourite projects involved working on a customer machine designed to identify breaks in underwater cables. The system uses ohms law and capacitance to triangulate faults across vast distances of wiring connecting landmasses. Ben worked hand in hand with Texcel’s head designer to develop prototype boards coordinate parts and help refine the build. “To be part of something that is actually useful is so fulfilling,” he says. It stretched his abilities and expanded his confidence.
Finding his voice
Confidence has not always come easily. Ben lived for years with a fear of speaking in front of others, a fear that could have quietly held him back. Instead of avoiding it he forced himself to face it. When he was asked to deliver technical training sessions inside the factory to his own teammates, the fear was overwhelming. Standing at the front of a room felt almost impossible. But he knew he had to work through it. Little by little he pushed himself and now he does it with growing ease. Many of Texcel’s customers have met him in meetings where he provides calm, precise technical input, a clear sign of how far he has come. This shift remains one of his proudest achievements
Texcel as family
Ask Ben what Texcel feels like and he uses a phrase that might sound clichéd if it were not delivered with quiet sincerity “It’s like a family.”
He means the forgiveness. The lack of judgement. The culture of helping each other out. He also means the depth of knowledge. Electronics is a world of thousands of components each with its own behaviour structure and quirks. The more he learns the more he sees how everything links together. Even the micro-atomic structure of components fascinates him. There is always a new corner of the field to explore.
As Texcel heads towards its 50th anniversary next year Ben feels proud to be part of UK manufacturing especially in a sector that has seen too many jobs migrate offshore. Yes there are challenges. Yes the industry is not the powerhouse it once was. But he would still encourage anyone to take an apprenticeship in manufacturing.
“It gives you a place to start and a purpose. You build real skills. You learn how things work. It’s worth it.”
Looking ahead
Ben sees his long-term future as a blend of technical and leadership work. Somewhere between management and design. He wants to keep expanding his skills and shaping how Texcel supports its customers. He has the grounding of eight years under his belt the confidence developed through challenge and the momentum of someone who has found what he is good at.
His journey is proof of what an apprenticeship can still do when the right person meets the right environment. It is also a sharp reminder of why Texcel continues to invest in young people despite the turbulence of the wider training system.
Ben Curtis is exactly the kind of engineer UK manufacturing needs more of and fortunately for all of us he is just getting started.
