Sunesta Tour

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Sunesta Tour

Sunesta Production Facility

Greg from Solaris’ Edmonton office traveled to Jacksonville, Florida to tour Sunesta’s production facilities. With the volume of Sunesta products we carry, we exchange many phone calls and emails with the folks in production. It was an excellent opportunity to put faces to names.

It was also a good education in the logistics of producing upwards of 80 fully customized, unique awnings per day, then shipping them all across North America. And there are other products in addition to those awnings! With substantial growth over the last couple of years, two key areas of focus for Sunesta are quality control and efficient use of inventory and production space. Sunesta is putting a great deal of energy into scaling up their production while maintaining their high standards of quality, monitored by the 3rd party Technical Surveillance Association based in Germany (TÜV). Re-examining where materials are stored, how inventory zones are labeled and minimizing the number of times and the distance items are moved is just part of this process. Forecasting is also critical so that suppliers can deliver on time, and shippers can move finished products on time.

Sunesta Tour

View of a double-wide Sunplus Shelter from below a Sunesta Awning

Bill and Greg watched the entire process starting from the specs of an awning arriving on the production floor, the fabric and framing for that awning going into production concurrently in two separate areas, then meeting up in a third area for final assembly, testing, packing, and shipping. They saw the high-tech tools and machines used in production, many of which are proprietary innovations by Sunesta. They also got a glimpse of what’s being tested for future fabrication techniques.

Sunesta Tour - Retractable screen walls below Sunplus shelters

Retractable screen walls below Sunplus shelters

Their tour ended at Sunesta’s outdoor show space. Not only are products on display, they are being ‘field tested’. The show space also serves as a fantastic area for the Sunesta staff to gather.

The pride and dedication shown by the folks in production was very apparent. Sunesta’s workforce is growing, it’s employee retention is increasing, and on-the-job training is ramping up to keep with the pace of production output. The team on Sunesta’s production floor is working very hard to provide top quality products completely customized to each customer.

Sunesta Tour - a beautiful place for staff to gather

Not just for display – a beautiful place for staff to gather

Bill and Greg left Jacksonville with an even greater confidence in the Sunesta product line. As a Sunesta dealer, Solaris is bringing to Alberta:
• The most versatile and customizable awnings
• The only awning that meets Floridian building codes for storm tolerance
• The only awning with TÜV certification
• The longest projection of any awning (14’8”)
• The finest dyed acrylic fabric from Austria and Italy.

Contact Solaris to see how a Sunesta awning or screen can provide cool shade to your outdoor and indoor living spaces.

Sunesta Tour - Edmonton Sunesta awning

3 of hundreds of fabric options

Written By

Landon Croome

Landon Croome

Landon is the founder of Solaris and has spent over 20 years helping people build the outdoor space of their dreams. When he isn't busy working, he enjoys hockey, golf, and spending time with his wife and three boys.