About Douglas

At Douglas, we’re experts in innovative textile design and fabrication.

Whether you’re looking to enhance and add value to your outdoor living area with a sophisticated roof, canopy or screen system, or you want to bring your car or boat back to life with our custom marine and auto upholstery, we’ll work with you to create a solution that fits your needs.

From our beginnings 20 years ago as a small auto and marine upholstery workshop right through to today, Douglas have always been innovators, crafting unique solutions for our customers. Over the years we’ve expanded our expertise to include Outdoor Living environments – a field where we’ve gained a strong reputation in the industry.

We are specialists who pride ourselves on exceeding expectations. Our award-winning team strives for perfection and places integrity at the heart of all our work, bringing you the optimal balance of style, functionality and quality.

The Douglas family

The Team

Our team at Douglas are a talented bunch of in-house fabricators and problem-solvers with many years of experience. We’re a diverse group, with a great mix of skill sets, age groups and backgrounds. It’s this diversity that helps us see things from different angles and come up with creative and innovative solutions.

As a team we are all about supporting each other and working to constantly improve things for the benefit of everyone. We also highly value the work of organisations like NZ Women in Trades who help to make trade careers viable for women and employers.

Bringing through the next generation and sharing our trade is very important to our ethos too. As at 2021 we have three apprentices in the workshop, two of whom also happen to be women.

We’re proud of everyone in our team and are excited as we grow towards the future.

Douglas Outdoor & Textile Innovation owners, Pete & Suzanne from Hawke's Bay

Pete and Suzanne, Owners

Douglas began a new chapter in 2018, with new owners Pete and Suzanne coming on board to continue the legacy of innovation, craftsmanship and creating customised solutions to perfectly fit our customers’ needs.

Alongside the Douglas business, Central Hawke’s Bay locals Pete and Suzanne are raising their young family and making the most of the rural outdoor lifestyle in the Hawke’s Bay.

If you’d like to get in touch, they are happy to receive your email:

Email Suzanne Hoyt

Email Pete Swinburn

Values

At Douglas, we believe in training great people and building careers. From apprentice fabricators to installers, our warehouse and logistics team right through to office and showroom staff, we want our people to develop and grow.

We also strive to be responsible corporate citizens and to always exceed the expectations of our customers, staff and the wider community.

We’re doing our bit to give back. Right now, that means things like sending our shade off-cuts to relief efforts in the Pacific and donating an awning and protective COVID screening to Nourished for Nil. Then there’s our Discount + Donate campaign which raised nearly $14k for two of our local lockdown heroes, NZ Red Cross and Nourished for Nil.

In 2021 we were also delighted to donate and commission two of our used industrial sewing machines to our Hawke’s Bay Red Cross Curtain Bank.

In 2022 we have fully embarked on a sustainability journey.

But we’re only just getting started.

Careers at Douglas

Want to work with us?

We’re always keen to hear from people with the right attitude. If you’re interested in working at Douglas, please get in touch with Peter O’Connell, Production Manager. Phone (06) 878 6300 or email orders@douglasinnovation.nz

Check out our recruitment video and hear what our team have to say:

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