igus polymer bearings make Sunilux pergolas maintenance-free, saving 20,000 service hours

French bioclimatic pergola manufacturer Sunilux has replaced conventional metal bearings with lubrication-free iglidur polymer bearings from igus in its motorised Solembra pergolas. According to igus, the switch spares the company around 20,000 hours of maintenance work and roughly EUR 25,000 in lubricating grease over the ten-year warranty period of its installed systems.

The Solembra pergola, developed for homes and commercial premises, uses motorised aluminium louvres that close into a complete roof within seconds at the push of a button, protecting the terrace from both sun and sudden rain. As the number of installed pergolas has grown, reliability has become a decisive factor for Sunilux: every additional system in the field increases the potential service workload, and service costs can climb quickly if components need regular attention.

Bearings exposed to rain, frost and UV all year round

According to Adrien Dufour, R&D and Quality Manager at Sunilux, the bearings in the moving louvres are among the most critical components, as they operate outdoors throughout the year under rain, humidity, frost and UV radiation. The company therefore looked for low-maintenance parts and moved away from traditional metal bearings to corrosion-free polymer alternatives. Dufour says the decision has significantly reduced service costs and enables Sunilux to offer an unusually long ten-year warranty on its terrace pergolas.

In each pergola, the 30 aluminium louvres rotate on stainless steel shafts, with every louvre supported by two bearings. Sunilux uses plain bearings and thrust washers made of iglidur G together with iglidur M250 double-flange bearings. A further 30 high-performance plastic bearings are fitted on each side of the pergola in the moving gutter system, which follows the movement of the louvres and helps keep the roof watertight when closed.

Dry running without a lubricating film

Unlike metal bearings, the iglidur bearings require no external lubrication. Solid lubricants embedded in the material provide low-friction dry operation. igus states that the bearings do not corrode in the rain, can be used continuously at temperatures from -40 °C to +130 °C and are resistant to UV radiation. Because there is no lubricating film, dirt and dust particles do not stick to the running surfaces, which helps keep the mechanism clean and smooth-running.

Savings in service time and material

Sunilux benefits in two ways. If the bearings had to be relubricated once a year, as is common with many metal bearings, all currently installed systems would require around 20,000 additional hours of maintenance over the ten-year warranty period, plus roughly EUR 25,000 in grease. Dufour describes the maintenance-free bearings as strategically important for the company, since they reduce both the workload of service teams and material costs at a time when qualified technicians are increasingly hard to find.

Source

• igus GmbH, press release “Summer, sun and lower service costs: igus makes pergolas maintenance-free”, 29 September 2026 (igus International Press Office)

Image: igus GmbH