Sun safe, with style
When New Zealander Kate Grubb and her Austrian partner Josef Fruhmann moved to Arrowtown from Asia in 2019, Josef was surprised by the relatively limited range of quality shade systems available in New Zealand. It seemed all the more inexplicable given that high daytime levels of UV are part and parcel of a typical Kiwi summer.
Kate and Josef realised they could make a difference by bringing European-made, high-end retractable shade systems to the local market. They teamed up with Austrian company Soliday, a leading European outdoor fabrics and shade systems specialist, to launch their business SunCraft and are excited to be growing as Soliday’s exclusive distributor in New Zealand.
“We started the business just before Covid and managed to expand through Covid,” says Josef. “Now we have a solid foundation, we’re aiming to build momentum on bigger projects with commercial clients.”
SunCraft offers an interactive design service that starts with a site visit; alternatively, people can supply building plans/photos. A simulation is then generated to show what the sun sail will look like and how it will perform on-site. There are both motorised and manual options and a wide range of colours and designs, but what’s particularly impressive is how these systems perform. Soliday shade fabrics, derived from sailing technology, are flexible and strong with built-in UV protection.
“They are rated to one of the highest sun protection standards in Australasia, which means they block 98 per cent of the sun’s UV rays,” says Kate, adding that high-tech sun sensors mean the system can be set to open automatically when the sun comes out. Elegant and easy, these sunshades are also designed to shrug off rain.
Josef is confident their European shade sails can cope with all the elements of a Canterbury summer, including a howling north westerly. “Wind sensors ensure they will automatically retract if it gets too windy!”