The story of the tensioned sail

The story of an idea

The story of LET Sonnensegel is the story of an idea: rethinking the sun sail – technically, aesthetically and for the long term. What began as an electrician’s prototype has grown into a manufactory of premium electrically retractable sun sails in the German-speaking region, with more than 500 completed projects in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

It began with a conviction

LET’s story began on a boat, during a sailing trip. Franz Lerchner, an electrician, kept asking himself why there was no electrically retractable sun sail that works flexibly with the wind, can be controlled at the touch of a button and still stays taut without wrinkles.

An electric sun sail should be taut in every position, half extended or fully open. A system that works with the forces of nature, not against them. No visible technology, no compromises in design. The technology had to go where it does its job – and disappear.

Image: Franz Lerchner in the early days of LET

The technology that carries everything

The decisive step: motor, spring system, bearings and fabric combined in a single roller. All movements and forces come together in it. When wind picks up, the fabric can give way. When the gust eases, the sail tightens itself again. That is how a LET sun sail stays calm, stable and taut – in sun, wind and rain.

Franz Lerchner installed the first systems himself. That is where a standard emerged that still shapes LET today: a sun sail should work reliably for many years – with servicing, fabric replacement and repair rather than buying new.

Image: The roller – the heart of every LET sun sail

The LET manufactory in Upper Austria

That idea became a success story: today our sails stretch over private terraces as well as restaurant gardens, hotel terraces and company premises – in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Wherever you need us, our team is on site – and every sail is planned and made in our manufactory in Upper Austria.