In Memoriam – Stephen Akers

19 March 1951 – 24 August 2024

Stephen Akers was a valued member of the international fiber cement industry and a dedicated supporter and driver of the IIBCC. His passion for the industry, leadership, and commitment to advancing the sector have left a mark on all who had the privilege of working with him. This page is a space for friends, colleagues, and industry peers to share their memories of Stephen, celebrating his legacy, contributions, friendship and the positive impact he had on so many.

Your stories and reflections will help honour his memory and the profound influence he had on the IIBCC and the wider industry. If you wish to contribute your memories of Stephen, please send us an email with the proposed text (team@iibcc.biz).

Contributions

I first met Stephen in the mid 1980s not long after he had graduated with his PhD and was working with Everite in Johannesburg South Africa. Everite had purchased a license for the autoclaved cellulose fiber cement technology which we  had developed at James Hardie and Stephen was one of their technical representatives. I distinctly remember seeing him striding along the corridor to my office in his familiar brisk fashion. We cooperated to effect the transfer of the technology and became friends and colleagues from that time.  As I would later discover,  while I had headed the team to develop the autoclave technology Stephen had a similar role in the development of the air-cured fiber cement so our paths were related and complementary. 

We had sporadic contact after that initial visit and our paths diverged considerably. In 1993, I left Hardies ultimately spending time in Malaysia and in Texas USA implementing autoclave fiber cement technology. Stephen had left Everite and moved to Switzerland working for Eternit Switzerland. After my time in the USA I returned to Australia in 2001 and gained employment with ANU assisting with commercialisation of technology. ANU generously allowed me to take time off occasionally for private consulting and Stephen was in a similar situation. To my surprise Stephen came to Australia to visit his PhD supervisor and contacted me with a suggestion that we work together as consultants in fiber cement technology. I had already had some consulting work through my contacts at IIBCC but it was much boosted by the two of us working together and through Stephen’s contacts in Europe. From that time we worked together in various places around the world for several years and at the same time working independently on our own projects. 

We also visited each other socially and got to know each other’s families. I had the pleasure of staying with Stephen and Esther on several occasions in Switzerland and in South Africa. 

I remember Stephen for his joie-de-vivre, his enthusiasm, his sense of humour and his intellect. Here is a small anecdote of his sense of humour. When we were working together in Thailand we stayed at a hotel in Bangkok which offered a tailoring service which had a special offer of two suits for the price of one, made within one day of ordering. Stephen took up the offer and had two suits made, the first a sober nice fabric and the second would be described best as “1940s mafia” a white suit with wide black stripes. Stephen also bought a pair of extremely pointed shoes. At Zurich airport he changed into this outfit and put on his sunglasses and walked through customs into the airport departure area walking right past Esther his wife who did not recognise him. Many other fond memories.

In short Stephen was a trusted and respected friend with whom I had much in common and I will miss him.  

Tony Cooke

I first knew Stephen through his papers on asbestos-free fiber cement materials published in the prestigious International Journal of Cement Composites and Lightweight Concrete (today, Cement and Concrete Composites, Elsevier). There were fundamental pillars for the basement of my doctorate thesis on the topic of vegetable fiber reinforced cement giving me great inspiration, not only in conducting my experimental work, but also in the approach of applied science. That was the major characteristic of his scientific contribution. During the organization of the IIBCC in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2006, I had the honour to invite him as one of the guest speakers and to meet him in person for the first time: that was the beginning of a fruitful collaboration and friendship for many years. Since that time, in many occasions, I came to know some personal aspects, the human side of Stephen (and his family), his generosity, patience and capacity to share all his accumulated knowledge. In 2017, Stephen and co-authors contributed a chapter to our book “Sustainable and nonconventional construction materials using inorganic bonded fiber composites” (Woodhead, Elsevier) on alternative reinforcing fiber for air-cured cementitious composites. In the IIBCC, Stephen always advised us in the efforts to bring novelties and renovation to the events. He served IIBCC for more than 10 years as the Treasurer, taking care of all the formalities as the updated Constitution (in place since 2023). Good memories, nice drinks, constructive conversations and pleasant shared moments will be the unforgettable memories we will carry ever in our hearts from Dr. Stephen Akers.

Holmer Savastano Junior (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil)