Made for shade

For a nation that loves to live outdoors, we don’t do enough to shield ourselves from the harsh sun. Luckily SunCraft is here to help.

Why doesn’t anyone have decent shade? That was what puzzled Josef Fruhmann, from Austria, when he first moved to Aotearoa with New Zealander Kate Grubb.

With such a focus on outdoor living here, he was surprised that there were so few options for providing shelter from the strong sun. Not only that, given New Zealand’s changeable weather, any shade solutions should also withstand wind and rain, and offer flexibility.

So Josef and Kate created SunCraft, a locally based company that imports and customises European-manufactured shade sails that are perfect for our conditions.

“They’re quite a unique product,” says Kate. “They’re from a company in Austria called Soliday, that’s been around for about 20 years. It’s actually near Josef’s hometown.”

One of SunCraft’s most popular residential products is the Soliday C, a striking-looking, fully automated shade sail with a design based on sailing rigging. Two ray-shaped sails can furl and unfurl around the central shaft using a remote control or a home automation system.

“They can be fully automated,” says Kate. “They can be set up with wind and sun sensors to open and close by themselves depending on the weather or programmed to open at certain times of day.”

It’s a hands-off approach, she says. There’s no need to think about getting an umbrella out or worrying about a sail fixed to the house that could cause damage. SunCraft products are designed to work with the wind and use a responsive gas tensioning system. The European-made fabric has a high standard
of UV protection and is water repellent – and comes in a fun variety of colours.

Josef customises every single installation, and Kate says he has a knack for knowing exactly where shade is needed. “We also use a computer app to generate a 3D simulation that shows what a shade sail would look like on a house and what shelter you’ll get at different times of the year and different times of the day. It’s a really useful tool for customers.”

People tend to underestimate how much shade they’ll need, says Kate. “The bigger, the better,” she says. “And statement pieces like these systems look very cool when they’re large as well.”

021 105 9656 | suncraft.co.nz