Sabine Batsche, the longtime marketing director for TENTE Casters, died Feb. 7, leaving behind colleagues, friends and family members who say they’ll always remember her kindhearted nature and willingness to help others. She was 56.
Born in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, Batsche worked for TENTE for 32 years and was responsible for the company’s marketing materials and communications. She also was on the marketing committee for MHI’s Institute of Caster and Wheel Manufacturers (ICWM) group and was instrumental in its production of the “Casters, Wheels and Accessories Guide,” published in 2019.
Natacha Smith, engineer manager at MHI member TENTE, said Batsche was a close friend and a well-respected colleague. She said Batsche was “very detail oriented, professional and organized,” traits that allowed her to take on many tasks beyond her marketing responsibilities.
Batsche organized company conferences for representatives from TENTE’s 30 global subsidiaries, planning events for them inside and outside of work, Smith said. She also was TENTE’s International Organization for Standardization management representative and coordinated National Sanitation Foundation audits, “activities that are not common for marketing managers,” Smith added.
“Sabine spent hours working on German-to-English translations for marketing and technical documents, a task that many others weren’t willing or able to take on,” Smith said. “Sabine was always willing to help, often volunteering to help put together branded company presentations or other documents for myself or others who needed a little assistance.”
Smith said she’ll cherish the memory of having lunch and exchanging gifts with Batsche right before Christmas last year. They talked about making plans for 2022, including possibly seeing a Broadway show.
“Sabine was an extremely kindhearted, unselfish person,” Smith said. “She was always willing and happy to help others, inside and outside of work. Sabine did this because she genuinely liked to see others happy, not because she felt obligated.”
Ben Mulling, chief executive of TENTE, said Batsche will be remembered for her charitable heart. She frequently held small raffles with company employees and used the proceeds at Christmastime to purchase coats and winter clothes for local kids. Mulling said his favorite memory of Batsche came when company employees made a lunch from scratch for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati as part of the charity’s Taste of Hope program.
“I worked side by side with Sabine that day in the kitchen, and it’s this memory that I will continue to think of,” he said.
Batsche enjoyed photography and would take photos at company picnics and parties, some of which are displayed on TENTE’s “memory wall,” located in a main walkway at company headquarters, Mulling said.
“TENTE was Sabine’s family, and she loved being a part of it,” he said. “She made connections with TENTE members all around the world, and she’ll be missed by all of them. However, she definitely left her imprint on all of us, so she’ll never be forgotten.”
Dave Lippert, president of MHI member Hamilton Caster, said he got to know Batsche through the ICWM group, noting that she “was always engaged, was a friend to everyone and had boundless energy when it came to working on ICWM projects.”
“One of my favorite memories is her zeal to help us all with individual videos we worked on to compile into an ICWM project,” Lippert said. “She worked for Tente, but she could have been mistaken for MHI staff given her drive to move our project forward.
“The world is a somewhat lonelier place without Sabine,” he added. “I’m happy I had some opportunities to get to know her and will always hold close the memories of her engaging laugh and smile.”
A resident of Burlington, KY, Batsche enjoyed boating, traveling with her family, crafting, gardening and baking, according to a published obituary. Survivors include her husband, Keith Batsche; daughter, Phoebe A. Batsche; father, Karl Gebhardt; mother, Sigrid Gebhardt; brother, Wolfgang Gebhardt; and sister, Claudia (Armin) Hanselmann.