Owen Phillips 1965-2023

It is with great sadness that Cambrian Tyres have announced the sudden passing of operations manager Owen Phillips, aged 57.

A proud father to Michelle and Neil, Owen joined the team at Cambrian Tyres in 2000, previously working as an assistant manager for the local branch of ATS Euromaster.

Given his background, he slotted straight into the sales department at Cambrian Tyres and quickly gained many friends in the motorcycle industry up and down the country with his sales patter and great sense of humour.

Following the sad passing of colleague Gary Pugh in 2008, Owen stepped up to the plate to take on more responsibility within the company and eventually became Cambrian’s operations manager. He was involved in many essential aspects of the day-to-day business and the recent expansion of the company’s warehouse.

Through his role at Cambrian, Owen relished the opportunity to travel to many tyre launch events, enjoying laps at circuits like Portimao in Portugal and Mireval in France and riding an adventure bike in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. He remained a keen biker despite a big accident in 2005, after which he could be found proudly sporting various scars and a ‘Rebuilt in Wales’ tattoo after a lengthy recovery period.

Affectionately known as Bob by many of his current and former colleagues, he almost always had a tool kit to hand and was prepared to get stuck in at any moment, no matter how big or small the task.

Outside of work, Owen committed much of his time to work with the Aberystwyth Royal Air Force Air Cadets, rising to the rank of Sergeant and helping to inspire many younger people to acquire new skills and qualifications.

He will be greatly missed by his family, colleagues and friends, alongside many within the motorcycle industry.

The funeral was held on 24 June, and the entire Cambrian Tyres operation was closed for the day out of respect to Owen, allowing all the company’s staff to attend and pay their final respects.