Yangi has added an undercut feature to its dry-forming platform for moulded fibre packaging, a capability intended to help customers replace plastic components such as coffee lids with fibre-based alternatives. The company is presenting the feature as a way to bring a common closure mechanism into dry-moulded fibre production.
In plastic packaging, accurately formed undercuts enable snap-fit joints and secure closures, creating a dependable mechanical fit between a lid and its container. Reproducing that shape in moulded fibre is technically demanding, and Yangi says its new capability addresses that gap.
Yangi is demonstrating the technology with a coffee lid. According to the company, the lid's precision-engineered undercut delivers a secure and consistent fit, with a measured lid removal force of 6 N. It was tested through 10 simulated coffee pours over 10 minutes and remained leak-tight and structurally intact when exposed to hot beverages at 93°C.
The undercut capability is also positioned 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.
“Achieving this level of precision in dry-molded fiber requires advanced tooling and forming expertise,” said Carlo Semeraro, head of Commercial Partnerships at Yangi. He said the coffee lid shows the performance available today, while the larger opportunity lies in applying the functionality across a wider range of packaging applications.
Cellera production platform
The undercut feature builds on Cellera, Yangi's dry-forming platform, which is powered by the company's patented FiberIQ fibre formation system. Conventional wet moulding uses a water-based forming step; Cellera does not, a process expected to reduce water and energy requirements in the production of renewable, fibre-based packaging.
In the coffee lid application, Cellera's four-second production cycle is estimated to reach an output of 300 lids per minute. Yangi says the platform is designed for high-volume, cost-competitive manufacturing, combining precise fibre distribution with advanced forming technology to support consistent quality and functional performance.
“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 reinforces fibre's position as a competitive alternative by delivering the functionality, quality and industrial performance needed for the transition to fibre-based packaging.
Trade show and scale-up
Yangi will display the undercut feature and other additions to its dry-moulded fibre packaging range at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht from 10 to 12 November 2026. Visitors can see the Cellera dry-forming technology through an immersive VR experience at Stand 28 in the Networking Zone.
The update follows Yangi's announcement that it has commissioned its serial Cellera machine platform. The company expects the combination of Cellera and the dry-forming process to reduce resource use and CO2 emissions by 70%–80% compared with conventional plastic alternatives.