tireless innovator

As ASB installs the courts for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Joe Laredo talks to the man behind the company, Horst Babinsky

A squash court on a cruise ship, glass floors, adjustable tins, a removable back wall – just some of the dozens of innovative ideas that have flowed in an almost constant stream over the last 35 years from the offices of ASB Babinsky. Those offices are in Stein an der Traun, a town of just 4,000 inhabitants in deepest Bavaria, near the Austrian border between Munich and Salzburg and far from the epicentres of world squash. They are just 20km from the home of the company’s founder, Horst Babinksy, who covers those 20km not twice but four times a day, in order to have lunch with his family.

It is very much a family business: Babinsky’s wife Petra is a part-time employee and their seven-year-old daughter Mona a regular visitor. The other 20-odd employees feel part of the family, and Babinsky regards his many foreign partners, including those at his production facility in the Czech Republic, as friends.

It was in 1965 that Babinsky started a company dedicated to fitting out schools, kindergartens and churches in and around Stein. Three years later, he developed an aluminium construction system and in 1972 founded Aluminium System Bau (Aluminium System Construction). Always a keen squash player (he still plays every week), Babinsky was asked to construct a court for a private customer in 1976 and, the following year, jumped at the chance to install a temporary court in the studio of Germany’s leading TV sports show, Aktuelle Sportstudio. His principal consultant on this project was no less a figure than Hiddy Jahan, who tested the court and gave Babinsky suggestions for improvements.

Those improvements have never stopped coming. The next two years saw the arrival of the glass back wall, the movable wall and the rotating back wall, the last designed to allow a court to be used as part of a larger space. In 1981 ASB launched the ‘healthy’ SportsFloor – made of 12mm, rather than 22mm, thick boards to increase its elasticity and reduce impact pressure on joints. The 90s began with the Game Court and the even more radical Rainbow Court, aimed at making squash more attractive and integrating the game into a range of other court-based activities, and ended with the all-glass showcourt. The new millennium brought the Sensitive Tin (emitting a light or sound signal if touched by the ball) and Top Squash (a scoreboard built into the tin and controllable by the players or referee).

“Life is about change,” says Babinsky. You have to constantly change your ideas, your way of thinking.

Not all of ASB’s ideas have met with universal approval. Especially controversial was the glass floor, developed in 2006 in order to give sponsors and advertisers greater TV exposure and to allow spectator-friendly indications such as ‘let’/’no let’ decisions and illuminated service boxes.

Although WISPA accepted the new floor for women’s Tour matches, the PSA rejected it on the grounds that it would be too rigid, although ASB claim that it is in fact more flexible than a standard floor and that the PSA did not test it adequately. (The idea has nevertheless been extended beyond squash, and ASB is due to open the world’s first glass-floored sports hall in April 2010.)

However, it is ASB’s courts that were installed in England’s National Squash Centre in Manchester and that have been used for all the Commonwealth Games in which squash has been included (since 1998). At the 2002 Games, the company’s contribution to the game was recognised by the World Squash Federation, former President Susie Simcock presenting Babinsky with an award “for innovation and outstanding service, which have been such a benefit to the WSF and the growth of squash worldwide.”

Babinsky is particularly proud of such recognition. “Squash has become my life,” he says. “It wasn’t easy for a German to be accepted in this ‘English’ sport. But I succeeded.”

Not one to rest on his laurels, Babinsky has continued to innovate. Top Squash now incorporates an LED display and an iPhone connection for remote operation; System 40 is a panel that can be fitted over an existing court wall within official measurement tolerances; and the latest all-glass courts are made of one-size panels, for easier erection and replacement. The latest improvements include the removal of lighting gantries (with lights now fixed directly to the walls) for improved viewing, a tin-level ventilation system to reduce court temperatures, and an elastic, moisture-absorbing floor. Babinsky declines to disclose his age but has no thoughts of retirement. He still travels constantly. “I don’t want to slow down,” he says. “I like my job.” And the secret of his success? “Always to be positive, to have goals, to remain objective and not to be influenced by too many ‘outsiders’. To go your own way.”

It is a philosophy that has made ASB synonymous with squash – and Stein an der Traun a centre of excellence for the sport.

Squash Player: Original text PDF

Today it was the second time entertainer Stefan Raab had to play squash against the candidate who wants to win the 1,5 million euro. Squash was again the main winner, because more than 5 million people watched the show.

Ramy Ashour (winner of the Saudi International and new No. 1 of the world ranking): ”The court is perfect, it would have been if I had lost too, it’s just so nice to play on there!”

Nick Matthew (Runner-up at the Saudi International und new No. 2 of the world ranking). “The court felt great, no bad bounce, no slipping, it will look good on TV too!”

Aamir Atlas Khan (after the match against Joey Barrington): “I felt very comfortable on the court today, the floor is really good!”

Adrian Grant (after the match against Farhan Meboob): “This is such a true court, probably the best ever glass court I have played on ­ it’s a joy to play on there!”

Thierry Lincou (after the match against Ong Beng Hee): “I’m much more comfortable on the glass court, to be honest, that’s the squash I love, and as Adrian told before, it’s a very true court, good length are rewarded on there!”

Ziad Al Turki (Promotor Saudi International und Chairman PSA Board): “The floor was great!”

Alex Gough (CEO PSA): “This new floor is good, not slippery … which makes a change … absorbs sweat … colour is interesting, still haven’t seen it on TV properly yet, it’s actually quite damp here … rained every day but the floor is handling it well!”

Lee Beachill (COO PSA): “I would like to congratulate you on the new ASB floor, recently used in the Saudi International!”

And also the last big tournament of the year – the Saudi International (13th – 10th December 2009) will be carried out on an ASB ShowGlassCourt. During this tournament with a prize money of 250.000 US$, the 32 top players of the world will again rely on the quality and reliability of this court. In addition to many other advantages it is especially the even ball rebound of the walls and the floor, which is highly appreciated by the players.

They will next perform together in Kuwait – The players’ “lounge”, the ASB Show GlassCourt will also be erected for this event. Thierry Lincou will try to add another World Open title to his title from 2004 and Greg Gaultier will do everything to not only come to the finals – as he did in 2006 and 2007 – but to win the finals for the first time.”

All organizers trust the innovative ASB Squash Courts, especially the ASB ShowGlassCourt.

But the above mentioned events aren’t enough! In November, there will be the ultimate event: The Kuwait Men’s World Open 2009. The top 64 players from 24 nations are competing for the World Open title and also the highest prize money in squash history: 277.500 US Dollar. The first rounds will be held in Kuwait’s Salmiya Club. The ASB ShowGlassCourt will be installed in Kuwait’s ‘Green Island Resort’ in an open air theatre, decorated with Kuwait’s national colors black, red and green.