Yangi has added an undercut feature to its dry-forming platform for moulded fibre packaging, aiming to help customers replace plastic components such as coffee lids with fibre-based alternatives. The company is demonstrating the capability through a coffee lid designed to create a secure mechanical fit with a container.
Undercut geometries are often used in plastic packaging for snap-fit connections and secure closures, where they provide a reliable fit between lid and container. Reproducing such features in moulded fibre is technically challenging. Yangi says its precision-engineered undercut delivers a consistent fit, with a measured lid removal force of 6 N.
According to Yangi, the lid maintained a leak-tight seal and structural integrity when exposed to hot beverages at 93°C during 10 simulated coffee pours over 10 minutes.
Applications beyond coffee lids
Yangi says the undercut technology can also be used 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.
Carlo Semeraro, head of commercial partnerships at Yangi, said that achieving this level of precision in dry-moulded fibre requires advanced tooling and forming expertise. He said the coffee lid demonstrates the performance Yangi can deliver today, while the larger opportunity is to apply the functionality to a much wider range of packaging applications.
Cellera and FiberIQ
The undercut capability builds on Cellera, Yangi's dry-forming platform, which uses the company's patented FiberIQ fibre formation system. According to Yangi, Cellera forms fibre without a water-based forming step, unlike conventional wet moulding; 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. 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.
Summit display and platform rollout
Yangi will display the new 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 news that it has commissioned its serial Cellera machine platform. The company says combining Cellera with dry forming is expected to reduce resource consumption and CO2 emissions by 70% to 80% compared with conventional plastic alternatives.
Johann Kaiser, Yangi's CEO, said the challenge is not simply to replace plastic with fibre but to make fibre perform at the level the market demands. He said each new capability reinforces fibre's position as a competitive alternative by delivering the functionality, quality and industrial performance needed to support the transition toward fibre-based packaging.