Here you can find all the archived news from Commercial Contract Engineers Ltd.
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We’re proud to have been shortlisted for the Technical Team of the Year Award at the @Comm_Motor Awards 2018. Click here https://bit.ly/2LjPCCW to see who we’re up against on 15 November #2018CMA
We’ve been shortlisted for the Aftersales and Maintenance Provider of the Year Award at the @Comm_Motor Awards 2018! You can view the full shortlist here https://bit.ly/2LjPCCW #2018CMA
It is with great Pride that we are able to announce that Commercial Contract Engineers Ltd have been selected as a finalist in the Commercial Vehicle Bodyshop of the Year category at the bodyshop Awards 2017!
The Jury met on Thursday 3rd August and over the course of the day deliberated all the awards. We were delighted to be informed today that the panel of Jurors selected us as a finalist at this year’s bodyshop Awards, which are taking place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on the evening of Friday 29th September 2017.
This is a real accolade to the whole Team and recognition of the continued support and commitment that they all give to the business and its development.
The bodyshop Awards Dinner is being held on the evening of 29th September, where the overall winner will be announced we will keep everyone informed.
CCE / Fix Auto Rochdale Ltd are looking to recruit the following positions……
Vehicle MET technician to work on Cars and LCV
Experienced Service Advisor (Industry experience preferable)
If you feel you have the skills and are looking for a career change or new opportunity please submit your CV to michelle@commercialcontract.co.uk
Well both the Racing at the Thundersport GB and the Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride went very well.
Lee made good times at the Thundersport Event and last weekend took part in the Wirral 100 Race, He is now looking forward to the 2016 Season.
The 10 Brave Blackpool Bike Riders were Fantastic. The weather remained kind and they all crossed the Finish line with excellent times. I’m sure there were a few sore legs the following day but it was all for a great cause.
We have another trip to Blackpool planned for this Friday, but this time its with all the Staffs Children and we are going to see the Illuminations. The night starts with a Chippy Supper followed by a coach trip through the lights, with Sweets, singing and lots of Fun. Its a great way for us to show our appreciation to our very dedicated staff and their Families. Blackpool Here We Come ……………………………………………………………………..
Well we have an exciting Weekend ahead of us. Firstly Lee Ewbank our Vehicle Damage Assessor and Business development manager is racing in the 2015 Thundersport GB Event being held at Donnington Race Track on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Lee the best of Luck.
We then have 10 riders who will be taking part in the Manchester to Blackpool Night time Bike ride in support of the British Heart Foundation. The team will be setting off from the Trafford Centre on Saturday night, and will leave the lights of Manchester behind and cycle their way through the Lancashire countryside, before reaching the finish line where they will be greeted by a dazzling display of illuminations on Blackpool’s seafront.
This will be the 3rd Year of supporting the event and we are very proud of all those who are taking part and wish them a safe ride. We will be posting updates on our Facebook Pages of both these events.
CCE Ltd would like to Congratulate 4 of their Fantastic Team on recently completing the Manchester to Blackpool Midnight Bike Ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation.
Luckily the weather stayed kind to the team and they did an amazing job. Their start point was The Trafford Center Manchester and the Finish Line was in front of a Heart illuminated Blackpool Tower. The British Heart Foundation is a charity close to their own hearts and the ride was to support the excellent work and research that the charity does.
Well Done to Phil Ewbank, Wendy Ewbank, Lee Ewbank and Steve Hulmes
We are currently looking to recruit a Commercial Vehicle Painter to join the team at CCE / Fix Auto Rochdale.
If you have experience in the painting and refinishing of LCV/HGV vehicles and would be interested in working for ourselves please submit your CV to Michelle Walker on michelle@commercialcontract.co.uk.
Job Description avaialable on request.
Congratulations to all the team that were involved in our 2 most recent Charity Events.
The First Event was the Kingsway 5 & 10 K Runs that took place on Sunday 22nd September. The 2 races were run by Phil Ewbank, Lee Ewbank, Margaret Sharp, Pat Nevin and Andy Pilkington Steele who are all staff at CCE and Steve Thomas & Mark Hough. Everyone did very well.
Then there was the Manchester to Blackpool Twilight Bike Ride in support of the British Heart Foundation which took place at Midnight on Saturday 28th September. The race started off at the Trafford Centre and finished at the foot of Blackpool Tower.
The 4 people involved in the race was Phil & Wendy Ewbank, Margaret Sharp and Steve Hulmes. The Team had a fantastic Ride and completed the 52 mile ride in 4hrs & 40 mins which was great. Currently the team have raised just over their £1000 target but the Just Giving Page is still open for any one wanting to still donate the this very worth cause.
http://www.justgiving.com/Fix-Auto-Rochdale
We are delighted for all the team following the announcement at the prestigious Bodyshop Magazine Awards evening that Commercial Contract Engineers Ltd were winners of the 2013 award.
They whole team have worked incredibly hard to establish CCE in some new areas of business. To be awarded CV Bodyshop of the Year 2013 recognises their team efforts and huge achievement.
Our Team work ethic and culture will continue to be instrumental in the continued success in the future.
Here’s to next year’s awards 🙂
CCE/Fix Auto Rochdale Wins Options Coaches Contract
CCE / Fix Auto Rochdale has won a prestigious new contract with Options Coaches in Rochdale to paint a brand new coach in readiness for use by Blackburn FC’s First team. There had been a suggestion by the supplier of the coach that it would be sent 250 miles South to their preferred paint shop. However, based on the success of their long-term relationship with Phil Ewbank and his team, Options decided to take the local option and to offer the business to Fix Auto CCE.
Paul Stone of Options Coaches and his son Luke provided an image of a similar coach with a multicolour blended paint spec, a colour scheme was agreed and work commenced on stripping and prepping the coach without delay. Lee Ewbank, Business Development Manager at Fix Auto CEE, secured a deal with Cunbar Automotive paint supplies who also agreed to provided technical support where needed.
The coach was stripped, prepped, primed and painted within five working days with extra time to unmask, rebuild and complete the final detail. The end result was outstanding.
“We made a major investment in this deluxe coach in order to secure the contract and to maintain the long and happy association we have had with the Club for the past 34 years. We needed a bodyshop that could provide us with the highest quality finish to complete the job,” explained Paul Stone, Director, Options Coaches. “We were certainly not disappointed with what Fix Auto CEE achieved. It’s a superb job which reinforces the quality of the product and service we can offer to Blackburn Rovers.”
A big thank you to all the team that made this possible including Steve Hulme Painter, Chris Pickersgill Painter, Karl Smith Prepper, Gary Millard Head of Transport, Rick Cummings and Julian Whitehead Strip and Re-build team and Lee Ewbank, Business Development Manager. Also to the Cunbar Automotive Paint team.
Also Thanks to David & Ann from David Smith Studio for the Fantastic photography, visit davidsmithphotography.co.uk
There is a real sense of Pride here at CCE as 1 of 4 newly regenerated Heavy Equipment Transporters used by the Army overseas, has been driven back into service by the soldier who was driving it when it was struck by an IED in Afghanistan.
A huge appreciation goes to All the team involved in the project with particular acknowledgement to Glenn Wood, Russ Butler, Julian Whitehead, Jimmy O’Dwyer, Paul Lambert & Kieran Wallwork.
To read more about the project follow the link below on the British Army website
http://www.army.mod.uk/news/25697.aspx
Thanks to David Smith and the team at David Smith Studio, Westhoughton, Bolton for the fantastic images
Commercial Contract Engineers/Fix Auto Rochdale are thrilled to announce that they have been named as Finialist in 3 Catergories in the 2013 Bodyshop Awards.
C.C.E Ltd Finalist in CV Bodyshop of the Year
Fix Auto Rochdale Finalist in the Small Bodyshop
of the Year
Phil Ewbank Finalist in Best Supporting Role
2013
What are the Bodyshop Awards
The bodyshop Awards is the original and most highly anticipated annual experience in the UK accident repair market. Now in its 17th year, the awards celebrate all that is good within the sector – recognising the outstanding achievers and success stories.
The prestigious awards evening annually attracts over 800 leading industry personnel. The celebrations begin with a champagne reception, followed by a black tie dinner. This year the awards will be presented by Dom Joly, star of hit TV comedy show – Trigger Happy TV. A disco themed party will round-off the celebrations.
Mark Hadaway, editor of bodyshop, said, ‘Our awards programme is held in very high regard throughout the industry. Independently assessed and judged by a panel industry experts the awards truly reward the top performers over the past 12 months. The whole event serves to highlight the often unseen professionalism of our industry.’
The bodyshop Awards 2013 take place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on 20 September 2013.
bodyshop is the leading automotive accident repair media resource.
CCE are proud to be working with the Army and supporting their service personel in a great initiative where businesses offer a selected candidate a 7 week work attachment within their business.
This is a fantastic way to provide these dedicated men and women with an opportunity to experience returning to full time employment outside of the army. We are pleased to welcome our first candidate Karl who started with us on Monday for his 7 week placement. Karl is working in our paintshop alongside the CV & Car painters.
To keep up to date with Karls story and his journey keep checking our posts.
Celebrating 25 Year’s Service.
Julian Whitehead Senior technician and workshop foreman at CCE was celebrating 25 years’ service on the 1st March 2013.
We spoke to Julian to ask him about the highs and lows of the last 25 years and what it has meant to be part of the family for such a long time.
“I joined the business as an apprentice motor mechanic back in 1988. Through my time I have learnt and developed various skills along the way, gaining qualifications in motor mechanics, Chassis laser checks and repairs on the Josam CV System. Just 7 days after turning 21 I also passed my HGV licence and my most recently achieved qualification was my Senior MET ATA Accreditation which I can honestly say was worse than sitting my school exams.”
“Over the past 25 years I have seen the business develop and change to meet different customer needs. I never imagined at the start of my career that I would now be working on all types of vehicles from cars right through to Heavy Commercial Vehicles, but the variety of the business we have today is really what makes it enjoyable and challenging.”
Michelle and Phil both agree that Julian is a highly valued member of the team who has seen the business develop into what it is today. We have seen Julian get married to his lovely wife Suzanne and have been lucky enough to share their joy in having 2 beautiful children Ethan (8) and Caitlin (3).
Julian is in good company as there are a further 8 members of the team that have also been with the company in excess of 20 years.
“It’s great to have such dedicated staff and their commitment to the business and its future is invaluable. Here’s to the next 25 Years.”
CCE/Fix Auto Rochdale was recently involved in the Rochdale Skills Event held at Heywood Business Park. The event brought together Schools and Local business and gave the 1300 students that attended a valuable opportunity to see what careers are out there as not all students want to go onto higher education.
CCE/ Fix Auto Rochdale had a real hand on exhibition and had a Pit Stop Challenge set up where students, teachers and even the Major of Rochdale and the Chief Executive of RMBC took part.
Rochdale Borough Council’s Chief Executive, Jim Taylor said: “The skills event is exactly the type of thing we should be doing more of across the borough. Introducing youngsters to the reality of work, inspiring them to pick careers that excite them and motivate them towards achieving the skills and qualifications needed to succeed in their chosen professions. Turning theory into practice is an exciting concept; it helps to provide pupils with an insight into how their education applies in the workplace.”
Michelle Walker (MD) explained “It’s about capturing the students imagination and demonstrating to them that our industry isn’t like the preconceived ideas many have. The Skills event allowed us to show them that it’s an Industry that requires Skill and is full of Evolving technology. We can offer a rewarding environment where you can physically see the fruits of your hard work.”
On the back of the skills event Fix Rochdale have 2 new apprentices. Kieran Wallwork who started on the 2nd April who is focusing on the mechanical side of the business and who will be enrolling with the local learning provider Training 2000 later this year.
Also Lewis Donbavand who is currently still studying but finishes school in June. Lewis asked his Mum to take him to the event so that he could see if there were any apprenticeship opportunities. Lewis then took the decision to spend his Easter break from School doing some work experience in the Panel and Paint departments at CCE/Fix Auto Rochdale.
Both Michelle and Phil complimented Lewis on this approach to his future and will be sitting down with Lewis to discuss his time spent in the 2 areas of the business and see which he will become an apprentice in.
Michelle said “It’s great to see enthusiastic youngsters coming through as we have always believed in apprenticeships and our many off our longest standing staff have been from very similar situations. Kieran and Lewis could be the start of the next generation and that’s why the skills event was as important as we are observing a decline in the number of people wanting to join the industry and we need to be aware of Future proofing, starting with the right staff with the right skills.”
Best of luck to both Kieran and Lewis.
Like most of the country we found ourselves waking up to a Winter Wonderland on last Saturday morning and again this morning. However even in such adverse weather conditions our dedicated staff not only managed to make it into work but then cleared a yard full off snow so that our customers would not be affected.Thanks to our Team again for their commitment and efforts during such testing conditions.
CCE would like to Congratulate Mark Bridgeman, Mike Phillips and Sean Stephens for all passing their Senior Level ATA Accreditation. Mark gain his in vehicle paint and Mike & Sean in vehicle panel.
This means that an impressive 95% of all CCE/Fix Auto Rochdale staff are now accredited. Phil Ewbank, Chairman, said: “This is a fantastic achievement by Mark, Mike & Sean. ATA accreditation is notoriously hard to obtain and all 3 came through the process with flying colours. Their success is testament to the quality of our team, our business and the individuals, Well Done Guys”.
CCE have always prided them selves in their professional livery and the new additions to this continue to demonstrate the pride we have in our reputation and fleet.
We have invested significantly over recent months updating the fleet which includes an updated HGV recovery vehicle, a Customer Service breakdown van, a new flat bed recovery vehicle for the cars and LCV customers and most recently 2 new citroen berlingo vans to compliment the courtesy hire fleet.
CCE / Fix Auto would like to Congratulate Ben Ashworth for successfully passing his Senior MET ATA accreditation first time at Training 2000 at Blackburn. Ben joined the company in 2010 as an apprentice on the Commercial Vehicle maintenance side but his enthusiasm and have a go attitude then led to him becoming more involved with the car side of the business. So after finishing his Level 3 NVQ in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (HGV) in January we approached Ben regarding the MET ATA qualification and asked him to give it some though, here Ben shares his thoughts on the ATA.
‘I was lucky enough to be selected to go on the senior MET ATA course which was a 3 day course. The first day was a familiarisation day followed by 2 days of workshop assessments & 2 exams. I was very nervous about the course as it was very intense and demanding but the course went very well and I now hold my Senior MET ATA accreditation.’
Well Done Ben from all at CCE / Fix Auto Rochdale.
Rick Cummings joined CCE on 1st April 1992 from a local training agent called Lloyds British following 3 years serving with the British Army of the Rhine in the 14/20th Kings Hussars in Berlin.
After leaving the army Rick joined CCE at 22 as an apprentice panel beater, Phil Ewbank Chairman at CCE/Fix Auto Rochdale explained that ‘at the time we were a growing company and believed in giving people an opportunity and although Ricks background was the services and not our industry specifically however we were a company that was happy to embrace and encourage reskilling for the right candidates.’
In Ricks 20 years with CCE/Fix Auto he has seen many changes, 2 premises moves (Bowlee and Eagle Technology Park), Weddings- including his own and many changes in the business and what we do. When I started with CCE in 1992 we were predominantly a Commercial Vehicle repairer with some car work but as Phil says we were a growing business when I joined and this is evident in what the business does now. One thing I can say is that due to the diversity of the business and the types of vehicles we work on it certainly helps to keep you enthused and engaged in the work you do.
I can say that I have learnt and developed many skills during my time at CCE from working the commercial cab jig to taking my Senior Panel ATA accreditation in 2008. I have enjoyed my time at CCE/Fix Auto Rochdale and do feel that Phil and Wendy have created a business that has great values where everyone matters.
It’s that time of year again and CCE are delighted to have made it through as finalists in the Commercial Vehicle Bodyshop of the year award.
The Bodyshop Magazine will host these prestigious awards at the Birmingham Metropole Hotel on Friday 23rd September.
We acknowledge that this is through the hard work and determination that is displayed by the whole team on a daily basis and endorses the good work that the CCE Training Academy is having on the development of our staff and individual personal development.
CCE understand that they do have some strong competition in other finalists but are pleased to consistently be recognised as one of the UK’s top 4 Commercial Vehicle repairers. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all the 2011 Bodyshop Magazine award finalist’s Good Luck in their categories.
We would like to Welcome some new starters to the business. Heather Senior joined the company in February 2011 appointed as the new Service Manager. Sean Stephens joined the company in March 2011 and is part of the Panel technician team. Paul Flanagan joined us in April 2011 as one of our CV night technicians. Finally we welcome Matthew Holmes who is our latest recruitment and who has joined us as an apprentice painter.
