Yangi has added an undercut feature to its dry-forming platform for moulded fibre packaging, a capability the company presents as a route for brand owners to shift parts such as coffee lids from plastic to fibre.
Undercut geometries are routine in plastic packaging, where they form the snap-fit connections and secure closures that hold a lid mechanically to a container. Reproducing that geometry in moulded fibre is technically demanding, and Yangi is showing its version through a coffee lid.
According to the company, a precision-engineered undercut gives the lid a secure, consistent fit with a measured removal force of 6 N. The lid was tested through 10 simulated coffee pours over 10 minutes and kept a leak-tight seal and its structural integrity in contact with a hot beverage at 93°C.
The capability is not confined to beverage closures. Yangi lists fitted closures for 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, process and output
Carlo Semeraro, head of commercial partnerships at Yangi, said reaching this level of precision in dry-moulded fibre depends on advanced tooling and forming expertise. The coffee lid, he added, shows the performance the company can deliver today, while the larger opportunity lies in carrying the functionality into a much broader set of packaging applications.
The undercut 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, an approach expected to lower 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. The platform is designed for high-volume, cost-competitive manufacturing, combining precise fibre distribution with forming technology aimed at consistent quality and functional performance.
Chief executive Johann Kaiser said the challenge has never been simply to replace plastic with fibre, but to make fibre perform at the level the market demands. Each new capability, he said, strengthens fibre's position as a competitive alternative by delivering the functionality, quality and industrial performance needed to drive the transition.
Yangi plans to show the undercut feature alongside other additions to its dry-moulded fibre range at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht from 10 to 12 November 2026, where visitors to Stand 28 in the Networking Zone can view Cellera through an immersive VR experience. The feature follows the company's announcement that its serial Cellera machine platform had been commissioned; combining Cellera with the dry forming process is expected to cut resource consumption and CO2 emissions by 70% to 80% against conventional plastic alternatives.
Separately, PulPac licensee Hébert Group has partnered with Andritz to scale up production of dry moulded fibre trays and lids, with the partners targeting water- and energy-efficient manufacturing from renewable or recycled fibres.