How to Choose a Shade Net Supplier in Johannesburg — A Manufacturer’s Guide

How to use this guide:

• Need shade cloth delivered this week, or a small order? Jump to the Supplier Directory
• Planning an annual purchase of 20,000 sqm or more? Go to the Direct Import section
• Unsure which shade percentage fits your crop and location? Start with the Highveld UV Guide

Most of the shade cloth I have shipped into South Africa over the years has cleared through Durban and then travelled inland by rail to City Deep, the container depot in the south of Johannesburg. From there it goes out to greenhouse operations around Tarlton and Muldersdrift on the West Rand, to vegetable growers on the eastern side around Bapsfontein, and to the retail nurseries that ring the northern suburbs.

That experience has taught me one thing about this market: Johannesburg is not Cape Town, and it is not Durban. Buyers who copy a coastal specification and install it at 1,750 metres are the ones who call two seasons later asking why the cloth is brittle.

This guide is written from the manufacturer’s side of the table. It covers what Highveld conditions do to shade cloth, the local suppliers serving Johannesburg and Gauteng, and an honest look at when importing directly makes sense and when it does not. My own company is not in the supplier directory. It is discussed separately, with its limitations, further down.

Why Highveld Conditions Demand More from Shade Cloth

Altitude is the first factor. Johannesburg sits at roughly 1,750 metres. UV intensity rises by about 10 to 12 percent for every 1,000 metres of elevation, according to the World Health Organization, which puts Highveld UV roughly 17 to 20 percent above sea level on the same day. Summer UV index readings across Gauteng regularly reach 10 to 12 from October to March. A shade cloth with marginal UV stabiliser content that lasts seven years on the coast can fail in four to five years here.

Hail is the second. The Highveld summer rainfall pattern arrives as afternoon thunderstorms from October to February, and Gauteng has one of the highest hail frequencies in the country. Standard shade cloth is not hail netting. It will take some knocks, but growers in the West Rand and East Rand hail belts need either a dedicated hail net or a structure designed for combined shade and hail loading, not a shade cloth asked to do both jobs.

Temperature swing is the third. Summer afternoons peak at 28 to 34°C, and inside an unshaded greenhouse the air can run 10 to 15°C hotter. Winters are dry with frost on clear nights from June to August. Cloth that stays up year round goes through a wide thermal cycle, which is why resin quality and knit stability matter more here than in a milder coastal climate. The table below translates these conditions into shade percentages by area.

Johannesburg and Gauteng Shade Cloth Requirements by Area

Across Gauteng the summer UV load is similar, so the shade percentage decision is driven by what you grow and whether the cloth also has to manage greenhouse heat or hail exposure.

UV index ranges are typical clear-sky summer values for the Gauteng Highveld reported by the South African Weather Service. Shade percentages are general guidance. Adjust for crop sensitivity, structure height and whether the cloth is the only layer or sits above a greenhouse roof.

Five Things to Confirm Before Choosing a Supplier in Johannesburg

1. UV stabiliser content in writing. Ask for the HALS percentage by weight in the HDPE resin. For Highveld exposure, 2.5 percent is the working minimum and 3 percent is what a five-year field life assumes. A supplier who quotes “UV treated” without a number has not answered the question.
2. Resin specification. Confirm 100 percent virgin HDPE. Recycled content has inconsistent UV performance and is the most common reason two rolls that look identical age differently.
3. Shade factor verified against a test report. A few percentage points of shade change greenhouse temperature measurably. Ask for the test method (SANS, ISO or ASTM) behind the stated percentage, not just the catalogue figure.
4. Minimum order, lead time and stock location. Johannesburg-based stock can be on site within days. Cape Town or Durban stock adds road or rail transit. Imported product adds 75 days or more. Match the supplier to your installation date, not the other way round.
5. Guarantee terms and samples. Ask what the UV guarantee actually covers, whether it is pro-rated, and whether you can get a sample from the same production batch as your order. A batch sample is the only reliable protection against the approved sample and the delivered roll being different products.

How to Verify Shade Cloth Quality Before You Buy

Shade cloth quality is invisible on the shelf. Before committing to any supplier, local or import, request an accelerated weathering test result (ASTM D4329 or ISO 4892-3), the resin specification sheet, and a pre-production sample from the batch that will ship. Professional manufacturers keep batch records and can produce all three within a few days.

Red flags: no test certificate available; a price 40 percent or more below the market; inability to confirm the resin source; a promised delivery from China in under 30 days (the realistic minimum including production is around 60 days to Durban and longer to Johannesburg).

Johannesburg and Gauteng Shade Netting Supplier Directory

Gauteng has a genuine local manufacturing base for shade cloth, plus wholesalers who serve the province from Johannesburg and its surrounding towns. The companies below are listed alphabetically for reference, not in ranked order. Company details are as published by each supplier. Confirm current specifications and stock directly with them.

Agrinet S.A.

• Location: Limpopo / Johannesburg, South Africa
• Company type: Wholesale supplier
• Year founded: 2004
• Number of employees: Under 24
• Main products: Agricultural protection products, shade cloth, irrigation, fire protection
• Other products: Industrial and specialist hardware

Agrinet is a multi-category agricultural wholesaler that carries shade cloth alongside irrigation, garden hardware and fire protection. The model suits farms and nurseries that want one supplier account across several input categories rather than a shade cloth specialist.

✅ Best for: Gauteng growers who want to consolidate shade cloth with irrigation and other farm inputs on a single account.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Buyers who need depth in shade cloth specifications, since shade cloth is one line within a broad catalogue.

Greenhouse Technologies

• Location: City Deep, Johannesburg
• Company type: Production and wholesale supplier
• Year founded: 2007
• Number of employees: ~50
• Main products: Greenhouse shade cloth, agricultural netting, greenhouse plastics
• Other products: Irrigation systems, peat moss, coir

Greenhouse Technologies operates from City Deep and focuses on the commercial greenhouse market: shade nets, greenhouse plastics, irrigation and growing media. That integrated range fits Johannesburg’s cut-flower and tomato greenhouse sector, where the cloth is one part of a climate system.

✅ Best for: Johannesburg greenhouse operators (roses, tomatoes, peppers) who want cloth, plastics and irrigation from one local account.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Large field operations buying commodity shade netting by the container, where greenhouse specialisation is not the priority.

Honeydew Nets CC

• Location: Laserpark, Honeydew, Randburg
• Company type: Manufacturer and supplier
• Year founded: 1985
• Number of employees: 200
• Main products: Shade nets, pool safety covers, slide-on covers, leaf catchers
• Other products: Tarpaulins and other PVC products, cargo nets, sports nets

Honeydew Nets has manufactured and supplied shade nets and other protective netting from Randburg since 1985. Shade cloth sits alongside a large pool-cover and PVC business, so the company is set up for residential and light-commercial demand in the northern suburbs as much as for farm supply.

✅ Best for: Northern Johannesburg nurseries, smallholdings and property buyers who want a Randburg-based manufacturer for shade nets and covers in one visit.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Buyers who need a dedicated agricultural shade cloth specialist, since pool and PVC products are a significant part of the business.

Industrial Netting

• Location: Linbro Business Park, Sandton
• Company type: Wholesale supplier
• Year founded: 1969
• Number of employees: 100+
• Main products: Pest control nets, shade netting, crop safety nets
• Other products: Cargo and sports nets

Industrial Netting has served Johannesburg’s agricultural, safety and industrial netting market from Sandton since 1969. Its shade nets are made from monofilament, polyethylene and polypropylene, and five decades of trading give it long-standing relationships with commercial greenhouse operations across Gauteng.

✅ Best for: Northern Johannesburg buyers who want an established local supplier covering both agricultural and industrial netting.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Buyers who need full installation service or speciality shade cloth grades outside a standard range.

Knittex

• Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
• Company type: Manufacturing (subsidiary of Multiknit South Africa)
• Year founded: 1964
• Number of employees: 800
• Main products: Knitted shade cloth, shading nets, nursery shade cloth, garden windbreak netting
• Other products: Greenhouse netting, safety barrier netting, windbreak nets

Knittex is a Johannesburg-headquartered manufacturer and one of the largest agro-textile producers in South Africa. As the Multiknit division dedicated to agricultural knitted fabric, its range covers nurseries, wine estates, greenhouses and commercial growers, and the Johannesburg base means shorter lead times for Gauteng buyers than coastal manufacturers can offer.

✅ Best for: Gauteng commercial growers, nurseries and greenhouse operators who want locally manufactured, certified standard HDPE shade cloth with short lead times.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Buyers who need speciality constructions (reflective screens, diffuse white, precision blackout) in non-standard specifications.

Lion Tarps

• Location: Erasmus, Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng
• Company type: Manufacturer, wholesale and retail supplier
• Year founded: 1980
• Number of employees: Under 100
• Main products: Shade nets, ground cover, waterproof ground nets, polypropylene tarpaulins
• Other products: Transport covers and components, blinds, covers

Lion Tarps manufactures and supplies agricultural protective nets, ground cover and tarpaulins from Bronkhorstspruit on the eastern edge of Gauteng. With more than four decades in business, it serves the East Rand and the vegetable and poultry belt out towards Mpumalanga, where shade nets are often bought together with ground cover and transport covers.

✅ Best for: East Rand and Bronkhorstspruit-area farms that buy shade nets together with ground cover, tarps and transport covers from a nearby manufacturer.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Buyers who need shade cloth as a primary, specified product, since tarps and covers are the core business.

PlusNet Geotex

• Location: Randfontein, South Africa
• Company type: Manufacturer and supplier
• Year founded: 2000
• Number of employees: 50
• Main products: Shade nets, bird nets
• Other products: Ski ropes, fibre, mini tunnels

PlusNet Geotex manufactures in Randfontein on the West Rand, inside the greater Gauteng market. It produces shade nets for agricultural, commercial and civil use, and the combined shade and bird net range is relevant to West Rand growers who need both shading and bird exclusion.

✅ Best for: West Rand buyers (Randfontein, Krugersdorp) who prefer a local Gauteng manufacturer for shade and bird netting.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Very high-volume buyers who need broader product depth than a 50-person manufacturer typically carries.

SA Shade

• Location: Johannesburg
• Company type: Wholesale trading and distribution
• Year founded: 1994
• Number of employees: 50–150
• Main products: Knitted shade netting for agriculture, camping, DIY
• Other products: Tarpaulins, PVC, ripstop canvas

SA Shade runs a cut-and-trim service, so customers can order measured dimensions instead of fixed factory rolls. That flexibility suits small nurseries, urban gardens and DIY installations with non-standard sizes, with Johannesburg pickup for Gauteng buyers.

✅ Best for: Small Gauteng nurseries, urban growers and DIY buyers who need custom-cut shade netting without factory minimums.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Commercial greenhouses that need large uniform rolls with formal UV stabiliser certification.

ShadeCloth SA

• Location: Midrand, Johannesburg
• Company type: Wholesale supplier (subsidiary of Joluka Construction)
• Year founded: 1982
• Number of employees: 100–500
• Main products: Shade netting for agriculture and tunnels
• Other products: Shade netting for carports, buildings and fencing

ShadeCloth SA, a Joluka Construction subsidiary, wholesales standard shade netting grades from Midrand, midway between Johannesburg and Pretoria. Trading since 1982, it covers agricultural tunnels, greenhouse covers and construction screening, with good reach to both Gauteng and Tshwane buyers.

✅ Best for: Midrand and Pretoria-side buyers who need standard 40 to 80 percent shade netting in bulk at wholesale pricing.
⚠️ Not ideal for: Buyers who need precision shade percentages, certified UV documentation or installation service.

Shade Netting Selection Guide for Johannesburg Applications

Considering Direct Import from a Manufacturer?

I run a shade cloth factory, so I have an obvious interest here. That is exactly why this section spends as much space on when direct import is a bad idea as on when it pays off. Johannesburg adds one wrinkle that coastal buyers do not have: every imported container lands in Durban and still has to travel roughly 570 kilometres inland.

How to Decide: The Full Decision Matrix

The Hidden Cost of Buying Local

Gauteng is unusual in that it has real local manufacturers. Knittex, PlusNet Geotex, Honeydew Nets and Lion Tarps all produce in the province. Several other suppliers in any South African directory are wholesalers who import from Asian manufacturers and resell. When you buy from a reseller you pay for their stock holding, local service and margin on top of the factory price, and that layer typically adds 30 to 50 percent on equivalent specification product. That is not a criticism. Speed, local accountability and credit terms are real value. But for a buyer planning 20,000 sqm or more a year, the layer is large enough to calculate explicitly.

The Hybrid Approach Many Large Operations Use

Larger greenhouse and nursery operations often run both channels. The planned annual volume is ordered direct 75 or more days ahead of the installation window, while a relationship with a Johannesburg supplier is kept for urgent restocking and repairs during the season. This captures the price advantage of direct import without losing local supply resilience when a hailstorm takes out a section in January.

When Direct Import Does Not Make Sense

• First-time importers. Quality verification, customs clearance and dispute resolution all fall on you. Start with a local supplier, learn exactly which UV specification your site needs, then consider switching.
• Credit terms required. Local suppliers can offer 30 to 60 day terms. Factories generally require a 30 percent deposit with the balance before shipment, which ties up working capital for 75 days or more.
• Currency exposure. You pay in US dollars and sell in rand. A 10 to 15 percent move in the rand during the production window changes your landed cost with no change in the factory price.
• No buffer for delays. A factory or shipping delay lands on you directly. Johannesburg buyers also carry the Durban dwell time and the rail leg to City Deep on top of ocean transit. Order earlier than feels necessary.

First-Time Import from China to Johannesburg: Step by Step

1. Request samples. Send your specification (shade %, width, colour, UV years). Samples arrive by air in 7 to 14 days, usually at no charge.
2. Test and approve. Check shade percentage with a lux meter, inspect the knit, and ask for the UV test certificate for the sample batch.
3. Place the order and pay the deposit. Standard terms are 30 percent by T/T with 70 percent before shipment. Letters of credit are possible on larger orders.
4. Production. Allow 30 to 40 days from deposit to ready-to-ship. Get the production start date confirmed in writing.
5. Pre-shipment inspection. Request the batch test report and photos before the container is sealed. This is your last quality checkpoint.
6. Sea freight to Durban. Shanghai to Durban takes roughly 25 to 28 days. Durban is the standard entry port for Gauteng cargo.
7. Customs clearance. Knitted HDPE shade cloth is generally classified under HS heading 6005 (warp-knit fabrics); knotted nets fall under 5608. The duty rate depends on the exact SARS tariff line, and China has no preferential trade agreement with South Africa, so confirm the rate with a licensed clearing agent before you contract. Import VAT is 15 percent on the added tax value (customs value plus a 10 percent uplift plus duty) and is reclaimable for registered vendors. Allow 3 to 7 working days.
8. Inland to Johannesburg. Containers move from Durban to the City Deep terminal by rail on the Transnet container corridor, or by road on the N3. Budget several days for the rail leg and one to two days by truck, plus the inland haulage charge for a 40-foot container.

Total timeline from order to Johannesburg site: approximately 75 to 90 days. For a spring installation, that means ordering in June or July. Coastal buyers can shave a week off this; Gauteng buyers cannot.

About EyouAgro: Where We Fit and Where We Do Not

EyouAgro (Joyeyou Industry, Shanghai) has manufactured agricultural netting since 1996. We knit mono shade netting, woven shade cloth and reflective shade screens from 100 percent virgin HDPE with the UV stabiliser loading specified per order, and we supply batch UV test certificates, a five-year UV guarantee and pre-production samples. We sell to South African distributors and large growers by the container. We do not hold stock in Johannesburg and we do not sell retail quantities.

✅ A good fit if: you buy 20,000 sqm or more a year, can plan three months ahead, need a specific UV loading, width or colour, and have imported before or work with a clearing agent.
⚠️ Not a good fit if: you need cloth this month, are importing for the first time without support, need credit terms, or cannot carry rand-dollar exposure through the production window.

If you are in the first group, request a sample and a specification sheet and compare it against your local quotes on an equivalent-specification basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does shade cloth fail faster in Johannesburg than in Cape Town or Durban?

Altitude. At roughly 1,750 metres, Highveld UV intensity runs about 17 to 20 percent above sea level, and summer UV index readings reach 10 to 12. Cloth with a low UV stabiliser loading that lasts seven years at the coast can turn brittle in four to five years in Gauteng. Ask for the HALS percentage in writing and specify at least 2.5 percent, ideally 3 percent.

Which suppliers in this directory manufacture in Gauteng?

Knittex (Johannesburg), PlusNet Geotex (Randfontein), Honeydew Nets (Randburg) and Lion Tarps (Bronkhorstspruit) all manufacture in the province, and Greenhouse Technologies produces from City Deep. The others listed are wholesalers or multi-category suppliers. Confirm current manufacturing status directly with each company.

What shade percentage should a rose greenhouse in Gauteng use?

40 to 60 percent is the usual range for cut-flower roses, with a reflective screen layer often used to bring greenhouse temperature down in December and January. Day-length control requires a separate blackout screen of 90 percent or more, which is a different product from the shade layer.

How long does direct import from China to Johannesburg take?

Roughly 75 to 90 days from deposit to your site: 30 to 40 days of production, 25 to 28 days at sea from Shanghai to Durban, 3 to 7 working days for clearance, then the rail or road leg to City Deep in Johannesburg. Order in June or July for a spring installation.

Will shade cloth protect my crop from Highveld hail?

Only partially. Shade cloth is designed for light and temperature management, not impact. Denser grades will reduce damage from light hail, but growers in the Gauteng hail belt should use dedicated hail netting or a structure engineered for combined shade and hail loading. Asking a shade cloth to do both usually shortens its life.

Conclusion

Choosing a shade net supplier in Johannesburg comes down to three questions: how much you need, how soon you need it, and whether you have the experience to manage an import. Small, urgent or first-time purchases belong with a Gauteng supplier, and the province is fortunate to have local manufacturers as well as wholesalers. Large, planned annual purchases with specific UV requirements are worth pricing direct, with the Durban to City Deep leg included in the calculation.

Whichever route you take, the Highveld does not forgive a coastal specification. Get the UV stabiliser percentage in writing, ask for the test report behind the shade factor, and test a sample from the batch that will ship. For the national picture, see our guide to shade net suppliers across South Africa.

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