Fi Innovations is a New Zealand-leading specialist in fibreglass, resin flooring, cast urethane and 3D additive manufacturing.
Our unique expertise combined with our 'can-do' attitude has seen us recognised with a range of awards, from innovation, health and safety to Southland business of the year.
"Ideas are not solutions; they are the raw material of solutions".
Conceptualisation and creation have been central to Fi Innovations right from its inception.
It is a generational family business. The original company, T D McIntosh and Sons, was Invercargill’s specialist in ornate plaster ceilings. Gareth Dykes’ great-grandfather, Thomas McIntosh, passed on his craft, skills and knowledge to his son, Bill McIntosh.
Although fibreglass was invented in 1938, the technology took longer to reach New Zealand shores. Bill thought fibreglass “might be worth checking out”, so he ordered Southland’s first batch of fibreglass resin. It arrived with no instructions. Taking the lid off, Bill placed the resin pottle in the middle of a large room. Not sure what to do, but also never afraid to take a risk, the approach was to run past and fling the hardener in – just in case it exploded!
A bold and fearless approach to creativity and business have always been central to this family, constantly evolving to meet market needs. By the 1960s, fibrous plaster had almost been forgotten. The business passed to Bill’s son, now trading as Southland Fibreglass. Once again, the company shifted focus by adding non-slip resin flooring alongside their expertise in fibreglass work.
In the 1990s, Gareth Dykes, who also held the family's pioneering spirit, learned the fibreglass trade at his grandfather’s factory. After an extended overseas adventure, he returned to Southland in 2002 with his wife, Melissa.
Passionate and excited to add new dimensions, Gareth and Melissa bring a fourth generation of innovation to this long-established Southland business. With constant investment in technology and a bold approach to development, Fi Innovations is now recognised as an award-winning hub of revolutionary ideas and creativity.
Fi Innovations is a company built on a thirst for innovation. Its future is bold, it is creative and has exciting unknowns, as it constantly adapts to stay ahead of the market. It is focused on inventing, adapting and educating.
At Fi Innovations, we are excited about what lies ahead.
Quite simply, if you can think of it, Fi Innovations can create it.
To be world-class through innovative thinking and manufacturing excellence.
Fi Innovations has long pushed the boundaries of manufacturing to find out-of-the-box solutions to every challenge.
We’re thrilled that some of these solutions have been recognised at both regional and national levels, and we’re proud of the awards we as a team have received over the years. Home to award-winning ideas-turned-reality, our commitment to industry excellence keeps us focused on moving forward, improving and innovating.
Our Fi Innovations team won three awards at the 2021 Southland Business Excellence Awards. We were lucky enough to bring home the overall Supreme Award, in addition to the Invercargill City Council Construction, Trade, Manufacturing and Distribution Award and the Naked Creative Innovation Award.
Core Values
We share our successes and our losses
We come together to tackle challenges head on
We share our successes and our losses
We come together to tackle challenges head on
At Fi Innovations, we pride ourselves on high-quality products and workmanship. And we back this with our promise to you:
If something goes wrong, we’ll work with you to get it right
Health and safety is one of the cornerstones of our business. Keeping our staff and our clients safe is a key focus for us.
Our industry-leading safety culture was recognised with the ACC Workplace Safety Award at the 2019 Southland Business Excellence Awards.
We ensure all our staff are site-certified for the environment they are working in, whether it’s at our site or yours.
We use state-of-the-art equipment to minimise disruption and assure a quality job, together with ventilation and extraction systems to reduce dust and fumes.
We are accredited with Impac Contractor Prequalification (PREQUAL) 5-star status and IAG Approved Repairer certification. We hold comprehensive public liability cover.
In addition, we have staff specifically trained in:
Gareth, Managing Director/co-owner of Fi Innovations, learned the fibreglass trade as one of his grandfather's apprentices. Never satisfied with the status quo, Gareth has innovated with products and techniques, in addition to diversifying the business. His openness to change and passion for continual improvement are now part of our team culture. Gareth holds Level 4 qualifications in both Composites and Resin Flooring. Since 2016 he has been on the board of the Composites Association of New Zealand.
While on his OE, he spent two years shepherding a flotilla of charter yachts around the Greek islands. Away from work, Gareth enjoys squash, disc golf and mountain biking, as well as spending time with his three sons.
As well as being a Fi Innovations Director/co-owner and a busy mum of three active boys, Melissa is our Business Manager. She juggles a multitude of tasks, ranging from finances and strategic planning to health, safety and quality systems. Having gained an Honours degree in Chemistry at Otago, Melissa worked at NZAS for 13 years, initially as a Process Control Engineer, then in Business Improvement, where she specialised in Lean, Six Sigma and ISO quality systems. As our business expanded and diversified, F-I managed to secure her full-time - it doesn't pay to be indispensable.
Not one to sit still, in her spare time Melissa enjoys adventure racing, mountain biking, squash and hockey, alongside family boating.
Derek is living the dream. Having been a NZ pioneer in commercial 3D printing for ten years with his own company, he now gets to play with even bigger toys. He's got the best 3D printers, innovative customers, and a great team - what's not to love. With a trade background, Product Design degree, and extensive industry experience, he now leads our growing Additive Manufacturing Centre.
When Derek is not working, he does the stereotypical 'Southland bloke' stuff - rugby, hunting, and fishing.
Action man, Dan, manages our Resin Flooring team, leading by example. With nearly 20 years in the fibreglass industry, Dan holds Level 4 qualifications in both Composites and Resin Flooring. He loves getting to do a wide variety of tasks as he coordinates each flooring project, from liaising with clients to working 'on the tools' and monitoring quality.
Away from work, he plays rugby for the Blues, goes hunting and looks after his lifestyle farm.
Shipwrighting is a far cry from being a butcher in the same premises many years ago. Since that era, Stan has worked for several local commercial boat-builders and gained Level 4 qualifications in both Wooden Boatbuilding and Composite Boatbuilding. He came to Fi Innovations in 2017 as a master craftsman.
Stan enjoys fixing old machinery and boats in his spare time.
Don't be fooled by Caleb's youthfulness - his skills, experience, and judgment are the equals of many seasoned professionals in the fibreglass industry. After leaving school, Caleb rapidly gained his Level 4 Composites qualification and was awarded NZ Apprentice of the Year in 2016. As our Workshop Manager, he enjoys coming up with workable solutions for production issues or complex repairs.
Caleb is never idle - he loves building and using powerboats, especially for fishing.
Would you like to work with a progressive, award-winning Southland company?
Do you enjoy creating quality products?
Fi Innovations is in an exciting growth phase. We’re expanding our specialist resin flooring, exotic carbon fibre, fibreglass, polymer resin casting and 3D printing, scanning and product design areas, and are seeking energetic individuals to join our team.
If you’re looking for a change in your life, can work well within a team and are up for the challenge of learning new skills, then we want to hear from you!
Specific job vacancies are posted on this page, but we can also create positions for the right people. Use our application form to send us your CV and a brief cover letter outlining why you should be the next person to join our team.
Services Overview
Additive Manufacturing - 3D Printing
3D Design
3D Scanning
Fibreglass and Composites
Resin Flooring
Industrial Coatings
Shipwright Boat Repairs
Polymer Resin Casting
River Tables
Rhino Linings
Expanding Foam
