A new logo, a new image and a change in company structure for Sun & Shade. This Genoa company specialising in fabric accessories for yachting has grown in staff and turnover and is aiming to evolve further.
A company in continuous evolution. This is the sensation you have meeting Sun & Shade. This Genoa company, specialising in producing fabric accessories in high quality, latest generation materials that respect the environment for yachting, but also for other areas such as the civil and furnishing sector, has a new logo, a new image and a new company structure. “We have gone from an individual company to an SAS, because this formula seems more strategic,” says Renato De Pascale, owner of Sun & Shade. Compared with two years ago turnover has grown and so has the number of employees. There are more customers to, thanks to the company’s participation in yachting fairs and events, but also thanks to word-of-mouth.” The headquarters of Sun & Shade is becoming small for the quantity of work demanded.
In the yachting area, the company intervenes with professionalism and experience, evaluating and verifying the characteristics of the boats it is to work on, highlighting aesthetic and functional aspects and listening to the requirements of owners. The company is also open to new materials and technologies and has a full service from design to production of the product required.
Summer and winter covers, canopies, sunshades, bimini tops, spray hoods, lazy bags, awnings, covers for helms, portholes, mainsails, consoles, cushions for interiors and exteriors and upholstery are just some of the products available.
A craft company with an industrial orientation
“We are a craft company, but we have an industrial orientation, says De Pascale. To work in Sun & Shade you need to be an expert in cutting and stitching, but you also need precision, a sense of order, enthusiasm, a desire to learn new things every day and a whole lot of passion for yachting.
“The important thing is that people who come to work here feel at their ease, are happy to work, because there is no point in spending most of your time in a place where you don’t feel at ease,” says the owner. “Our environment is open work and open space. Everyone has to learn to do a bit of everything. An expert in canopies must be able to make cushions too if needed, and vice versa, so that the company can guarantee maximum production efficiency at all times of the year.”
Willingness and courtesy are characteristics everyone in the team has, creating a serene environment where satisfying customer requirements becomes a pleasant experience.
A vast range of products for every need
The range of cushions for yachts is made with fabrics that are resistant to water, UV rays and where, and includes all padded furnishing elements both for boat interiors and exteriors, such as sofas, suites, sun beds, cushions for the flying bridge and for the stern cockpit. Sun & Shade offers impermeable, water resistant and anti-stain fabrics in cotton, linen, leather, eco-leather and technological fabrics such as mass dyed acrylic fibre. Work on the fabrics ranges from classic stitching to double English stitching and the refined capitonné. Stuffing uses elastic, non-deforming material to resist weather and mechanical stress.
The canopies, made-to-measure for boats of every size and kind, are available with transparent and modular windows. Also available are canopies for shade and for the bow, bimini tops for the flying bridge and stern that normally require stainless steel structures. The materials used to make canopies and biminis are fabrics that are ultra resistant to water, solar rays and mechanical stress to guarantee stability over time; the material is breathable to avoid the formation of mould due to high humidity. Acrylic resin treatment makes Sun & Shade canopies and biminis suitable for protecting vessels and passengers from sun and water; they also repel oil and stains and ensure quality and reliability in all atmospheric conditions.
In internal upholstery, Sun & Shade produces ceilings, clouded panels, bed heads, curtains and accessories such as sheets made-to-measure with customised logos and embroidery and customised towels in all styles and fabrics.
Sun & Shade carpeting offers excellent sound insulation. Wall, cotton, jute, linen, coconut, bamboo and synthetic fabric are some of the materials from which customers can choose to create environments that are unique, elegant and comfortable.
Covers, useful for preserving and maintaining in good condition sailing and motorboats, are made in materials from PVC to sumbrella, from polyester to water repellent acrylic.
Attention is also paid to the production of spray hoods, for protection in the cockpit, around hatches, but above all for being able to sail under engine or sale without renouncing protection. The lazy bag, another specific product for sailing yachts, permits simple and autonomous manoeuvres and helps fold the mainsail down on the boom much more easily.
Sun & Shade has a desire to grow also in the future: new machinery, collaboration agreements and new products will contribute to further evolution.
A commitment to several sectors
In parallel with its commitment to the yachting sector, Sun & Shade is also active in other areas, in interior and exterior furnishing, in upholstery through to the fitting out of helicopters, where special certification is necessary and where it is fundamental to combine aesthetics, quality and careful workmanship. The company is about to introduce new punching and cutting machines of the latest generation to carry out operations more rapidly and with precision. Very important for De Pascale is the possibility of creating synergies with other industrial and craft companies: “Collaboration with companies specialising in complementary activities, from those specialising in upholstery for yachting and furnishing to those producing inflatables and those fitting out helicopters, adds value to our production.” Sometimes collaboration goes beyond expectations: a curious and prestige example is collaboration with a Piedmont company that produces covers for harps and other musical instruments. Production has extended also to the hotel sector: Sun & Shade produces covers for gazebos and coverings for restaurant seating.
Interview by our staff.
