Phil Ewbank
Chairman

Phil Ewbank is a self-made businessman and leads one of the country’s most successful commercial vehicle companies.

On leaving school, Phil was taken on as an indentured apprentice mechanic at Spillers, where he worked for four years until moving on as a qualified mechanic to family owned local business Johnson’s Coaches.

Having been made redundant in 1981, and after a brief spell looking for work, Phil decided to apply for an HGV licence. This, ironically, was the beginning of Phil’s career with Commercial Contract Engineers.

The truck that Phil was learning in regularly broke down – which, with his mechanical background, Phil offered to fix. He duly identified and fixed the problem, in front of a very impressed owner, he was offered a job on the spot which led to employment with CCE Ltd.

In 1987, the Ewbanks acquired 80 per cent and soon after the total 100 per cent shareholding of Commercial Contract Engineers Ltd.

The company is now a leading national player in the vehicle maintenance and repair industry, and has won many national awards within its industry field and training, CCE also celebrates 30 years in business very soon and Phil is proud to have achieved this in the Rochdale borough having relocated the business twice and remained in the borough.

Phil is passionate about the development of Rochdale and has led RDA as it has secured millions of pounds to regenerate communities, redevelop the town centres and bring new businesses into the borough.

Kingsway Business Park is a great example of how RDA and RMBC and its partners have worked well together to deliver a major project overcoming many challenges. Rochdale has something quite unique within its very own development agency and Phil feels this is a real asset to the borough and surrounding areas.