Yangi has added a new undercut feature to its dry-forming platform for moulded fibre packaging. The company says the capability is intended to help customers adopt fibre-based alternatives to components such as coffee lids.
Undercut geometries are often used in plastic packaging to create snap-fit connections and secure closures. They allow a lid and container to form a reliable mechanical fit. Such shapes are technically challenging to produce in moulded fibre, according to Yangi, and the new feature is designed to address that limitation.
Yangi is demonstrating the capability with a coffee lid. A precision-engineered undercut is said to provide a secure and consistent fit, with a measured lid removal force of 6 N. The lid was tested through 10 simulated coffee pours over 10 minutes. During exposure to hot beverages at 93°C, it maintained a leak-tight seal and structural integrity.
The undercut technology is also suitable for fitted closures in other applications, the company says. These include 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 demonstrates the performance the company can deliver today, while the larger opportunity is to apply the functionality to a 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, Cellera forms fibre without a water-based forming step. Yangi expects this 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. The platform 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,” 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 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, along with other contributions to its dry-moulded fibre packaging range, at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht from 10 to 12 November 2026. Attendees can visit Stand 28 in the Networking Zone to view 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 set to reduce resource consumption and CO2 emissions by 70%-80% compared with conventional plastic alternatives, according to the company.