Garth Tayler, Ph.D., technical director at Acme Brick Co., received Acme’s 2016 President’s Award at the recent President’s meeting. This award is typically presented annually to the Acme Brick employee whose efforts reflect the type of performance that has made the company successful over its 125-year history.

During his 21-year tenure with Acme Brick, Tayler has been an active member-participant, speaker and promoter of the Southwest Section of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He has long been a proponent of the use of innovative, state-of–the-art technologies in the brick industry.

In his nomination of Tayler for the President’s Award, Ed Watson, Acme’s senior vice president of production said, “Most managers who have worked with Garth have thrived, benefiting from his technical expertise and support. He has applied his wide management and leadership experience to good effect in the process of bringing effective teams together in the Technical Services Department of Acme Brick. He believes that one should not wait until a later time to ‘give back to society,’ but that one should ‘give back’ to fellow associates, friends and the community, whenever possible, every day. It is this form of servant leadership practiced by Garth that has over the years, helped many of his fellow associates grow and develop their careers.”

Tayler worked for two major brick companies in South Africa, Corobrik and Cullinan Brick, spending 20 years with the former, working his way up to regional production manager. He then joined Cullinan Brick, later becoming CEO. Tayler and his wife Janet immigrated to the U.S. to join Acme Brick in October 1995.

Tayler holds degrees in ceramic engineering, mechanical engineering and business economics. He is a certified professional engineer in South Africa. Shortly after joining Acme Brick, he graduated with his doctorate in ceramic engineering from the Staffordshire University in the UK. His research on the use of microwave energy for the firing of structural ceramics was started several years prior to joining Acme Brick. Acme Brick made it possible for him to complete the final stages of research at Staffordshire University and to obtain his Ph.D. in 1997.

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