Yangi has added a new undercut feature to its dry-forming platform for moulded fibre packaging, a move set to help customers adopt fibre-based alternatives to components such as coffee lids.
Precise undercut geometries are often used for snap-fit connections and secure closures in plastic packaging, enabling a reliable mechanical fit between a lid and container. However, the format is technically challenging in moulded fibre applications.
Yangi is demonstrating its new undercut capability via a coffee lid. A precision-engineered undercut is said to deliver a secure and consistent fit with a measured 6 N lid removal force.
The lid has been tested through 10 simulated coffee pours over 10 minutes, maintaining a leak-tight seal and structural integrity when exposed to hot beverages at 93°C.
The undercut technology is also suitable for fitted closures across various applications, including 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.
“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, a dry-forming platform powered by Yangi’s patented fibre formation system, FiberIQ. Unlike conventional wet moulding, it forms fibre without a water-based forming step; this is 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.
On the whole, it is designed for high-volume, cost-competitive manufacturing – combining precise fibre distribution with advanced forming technology for consistent quality and functional performance.
“The challenge has never been simply to replace plastic with fibre,” added Yangi CEO Johann Kaiser. “It’s to make fibre perform at the level the market demands.
“Every new capability we develop reinforces fibre’s position as a competitive alternative to plastic by delivering the functionality, quality and industrial performance needed to drive the transition toward fibre-based packaging.”
Yangi will display its new undercut feature, alongside other contributions to its dry-moulded fibre packaging range, at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht (10 – 12 November 2026). Attendees can visit Stand 28 in the Networking Zone to view Cellera dry forming technology through an immersive VR experience.
The news comes after Yangi announced the commissioning of its serial Cellera machine platform. Combining Cellera with the dry forming process is set to reduce resource consumption and CO2 emissions by 70%-80% compared with conventional plastic alternatives.
In other news, PulPac licensee Hébert Group has partnered with Andritz to scale up production of Dry Molded Fiber trays and lids. The partners target water- and energy-efficient manufacturing that uses renewable or recycled fibres.
