Scaling Up Without Shipping Out: How XLAB is Changing Joinery Manufacturing

Traditional joinery fabrication was built for low volumes — one job, one set of hands, one-off results. When group home builders and developers need hundreds or thousands of windows and doors, the local industry hasn't always been able to keep pace. That's pushed many to source from overseas manufacturers, accepting the trade-offs: long lead times, limited technical support, products that weren't designed or tested for New Zealand's specific conditions, and warranties that are difficult to enforce when something goes wrong.

XLAB is our answer to that gap, and it keeps the work right here in NZ.

XLAB is FMI Building Innovation's advanced robotic automation system, purpose-built for high-volume, high-performance window and door manufacturing. It's grounded in Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) — the same principles we outlined in our recent article on how DfMA is shaping the future of innovation.

Where traditional fabrication relies heavily on skilled manual labour at every stage, XLAB uses purpose-designed manufacturing suites and highly automated, computer-controlled robotic machinery. The result is precision and consistency at scale, with significantly fewer labour touch points, and without compromising on quality.

Because XLAB products are designed, manufactured, tested, and warranted locally, developers get the volume capability they need without the risks of offshore supply. Shorter lead times, direct technical support, enforceable warranties, and products built for New Zealand conditions rather than adapted from an overseas specification.

XLAB is built around standardised window and door suites, and is a deliberate move away from the fully bespoke model that has defined the industry. Standardisation is what unlocks the efficiency, consistency, and output that high-volume projects demand.

That said, XLAB doesn't eliminate bespoke capability entirely. The system is designed to handle the volume work at pace while retaining the ability to produce custom products where a project calls for it. It's a shift in emphasis, not an either/or.

The first XLAB system is now operational at Lidar, a New Zealand-owned window and door manufacturer with nationwide reach and a purpose-built 15,000 square metre production facility. Lidar's expertise spans the full spectrum of residential and commercial projects, making them an ideal launch partner for a system built to perform at scale.

We're actively looking for ambitious fabricators who are ready to manufacture at volume, compete at scale, and lead their market.

XLAB is supported by FMIBI Automation, our specialists in robotic and automated manufacturing systems. The technology behind XLAB is a working example of what our automation team delivers: precision engineering, systems thinking, and manufacturing solutions that perform at scale. For fabricators considering XLAB, that means access not just to the machinery, but to an engineering and support team that's invested in making it work.

If you're a fabricator or developer who has been looking offshore for volume window and door supply, there's now a local alternative that delivers on quality, consistency, and scale. And if you're a fabricator ready to step into the next era of joinery manufacturing, XLAB is an opportunity to get ahead of the curve.