Yangi has added an undercut feature to its dry-forming platform for moulded fibre packaging, targeting components such as coffee lids that have largely stayed with plastic.
Undercut geometries are the small re-entrant profiles that create snap-fit connections and secure closures in plastic packaging, giving a lid and container a reliable mechanical fit. Reproducing them in moulded fibre is technically demanding, and Yangi is presenting the new capability through a coffee lid whose precision-engineered undercut is said to deliver a secure and consistent fit, with a measured lid removal force of 6 N.
According to the company, the lid was tested through 10 simulated coffee pours over 10 minutes and maintained a leak-tight seal and structural integrity when exposed to hot beverage at 93°C.
Beyond coffee lids, Yangi says the undercut technology is suitable for fitted closures in snack containers, takeaway containers, dessert and ice cream tubs, confectionery packaging, dry and ambient food containers, and packaging for personal care products, cosmetics and consumer goods.
Tooling and forming expertise
“Achieving this level of precision in dry-molded fiber requires advanced tooling and forming expertise,” said Carlo Semeraro, head of Commercial Partnerships at Yangi. “The coffee lid demonstrates the performance we can deliver today, but the real opportunity is applying this functionality to a much wider range of packaging applications.”
The undercut capability builds on Cellera, the company's dry-forming platform powered by its patented fibre formation system, FiberIQ. Unlike conventional wet moulding, it forms fibre without a water-based forming step, a difference expected to reduce water and energy requirements in the production of renewable, fibre-based packaging.
In a coffee lid application, Cellera's four-second production cycle is estimated to reach an output of 300 lids per minute. Overall, the platform is designed for high-volume, cost-competitive manufacturing, pairing precise fibre distribution with advanced forming technology to keep quality and functional performance consistent.
Performance as the barrier to substitution
“The challenge has never been simply to replace plastic with fibre,” said Yangi CEO Johann Kaiser. “It's to make fibre perform at the level the market demands.” He added that each new capability the company develops reinforces fibre's position as a competitive alternative to plastic by delivering the functionality, quality and industrial performance needed to support the transition toward fibre-based packaging.
Yangi will display the undercut feature, alongside other elements of its dry-moulded fibre packaging range, at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht from 10 to 12 November 2026. Visitors to Stand 28 in the Networking Zone can view the Cellera dry-forming technology through an immersive VR experience.
The announcement follows Yangi's commissioning of its serial Cellera machine platform. Combining Cellera with the dry-forming process is expected to cut resource consumption and CO2 emissions by 70%–80% compared with conventional plastic alternatives, according to the company.
Elsewhere in dry-moulded fibre, PulPac licensee Hébert Group has partnered with Andritz to scale up production of Dry Molded Fiber trays and lids, with the partners targeting water- and energy-efficient manufacturing based on renewable or recycled fibres.