Meet Our People: Ruth Mann
8 September 2025
We will be sharing some insight into who’s who across the Tex Group and we start with someone who has spent their entire career with Tex.
Our Company & Pensions Secretary, Ruth Mann, has an incredible 37 years’ service, and counting. Ruth knows more about the history of Tex than almost anyone, having seen many changes over the past three decades.
Ruth joined BSP Ltd in 1988 after gaining qualifications at secretarial college, starting in the role of Office Junior learning the ropes. As BSP Ltd evolved to become Tex Steel Tubes, and ultimately Tex Engineering, Ruth continued to work her way through the ranks of the business support function for the Company, with unparalleled efficiency, organisation and attention to detail.
Promoted to Head Office in 1992, Ruth continued to progress her career, gaining various promotions over the following 20 years; from office secretary, to PA to the MD and then Assistant Company Secretary. Ruth now holds the position of Company & Pensions Secretary, where she leads the business support and Company Secretarial function for the Group, with one direct report, Clare Jacobs. In addition to the pension function, their team oversees the Company’s insurance, staff benefits and investments and Ruth has firmly established herself as an integral part of the Tex Group senior management team. In addition, this department is the first port of call for anything from lightbulbs to leases, or pensions to plugs. If you need to know anything historic, you go straight to Ruth; she is also incredibly practical; need a paracetamol? Ask Ruth; need a screwdriver? Ask Ruth;….the contents of Ruth’s desk drawer could challenge Mary Poppins’ magic carpet bag! She is definitely Tex’s ‘Go-To-Girl’ for anything and everything you could think of.
When asked about her time within the Group, Ruth said there have been many changes over the years. She recalls transferring communications from Telex to Fax and remembers being in awe of the progress in technology, as well remembering the day she packed away her typewriter for the replacement shiny new word processor! Gone are the days of the notetaking in Board Meetings and the hours spent typing up minutes, as Directors now collate their own notes and of course the use of AI in the workplace has led to change. Ruth said whilst there are clear benefits of AI, she noted that it cannot replace human creativity. She said she would also challenge it to outperform her ability to proofread and grammar check; she is our human spellcheck and holds the title of Queen of Grammar (and yes, she proofread this too!) Ruth’s steadfast reliability and resilience, as well as her unquestionable loyalty, has seen her work with numerous different people over her 30 plus years, including her father, two uncles and a cousin who worked within the Tex group of companies. Not only was there a family connection, but she even met her future husband, Michael, at BSP International Foundations Ltd. Michael was regrettably made redundant but happily returned 25 years later and remains a key member of the now BSP Tex team. Ruth said that in addition to finding a husband, she has had seven different bosses and joked she has outlasted them all!
When she is not holding the fort at work, Ruth enjoys plenty of leisure time activities including European travel, hiking and international concerts (she’s a lifelong a-ha fan). Living locally, Ruth’s short commute to and from work means she has plenty of time to do the things she enjoys at home such as gardening and ongoing DIY and decorating. She also has three chickens, enjoys Pilates and the gym, and is closely connected to family and friends, as well as being an Ipswich Town football fan. Ruth enjoys being busy and is very rarely found at a loose end; she will always find something that needs doing.
Ruth continues to be the cornerstone of the Tex Group and plans to continue right through her retirement, which is an exceptional achievement and commitment and we celebrate her outstanding contribution.