Fiberdom’s Plastic-free Duranova® Achieves Reel-to-Reel Industrial Processing Milestone in VITS Germany Trials
Industrial trials mark a key step toward expanding Fiberdom’s commercially proven plastic-free fiber material into new packaging applications aligned with emerging EU packaging regulations.
VANTAA, Finland, 4 March, 2026. Fiberdom, a pioneer in wood fiber material innovation has successfully completed industrial pilot trials of its plastic-free Duranova® material using a continuous reel-to-reel pilot line supplied by Vits Technology GmbH, a global market leader in supplying impregnation and coating lines for technical and decorative papers, films, and laminates.
The trials were conducted at VITS’s development center in Germany, representing the first application of Fiberdom’s material in a reel-to-reel industrial pilot process—an essential requirement for large-scale thermoformable product and packaging converters.
The work comes as the packaging and short service-life product industries face increasing pressure to transition to more sustainable materials under the proposed EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which targets significant reductions in plastic packaging and food service products across EU member states.
During the trials, Fiberdom tested multiple production parameters and paper grades. The work focused on process stability, runnability, and repeatability rather than final product optimization. Results demonstrated that Fiberdom’s plastic-free, natural fiber material—combining durability with extended formability—can be processed on industrial pilot machinery in a continuous production format suitable for verifying scale-up potential.
“A key challenge for new materials is finding the best machine setup and corresponding process parameter for demonstrating reliable processing in continuous industrial operations,” said Arne Weber, Head of Laboratory at Vits. “Running Fiberdom’s material successfully on our reel-to-reel pilot line shows that it can be integrated into the same development and scale-up environment used for established paper-based substrates, which is an important step toward future industrial implementation.”
For Fiberdom, the trials represent an important milestone in advancing the industrial production of plastic-free natural fiber materials designed to meet rising performance and regulatory expectations in packaging and other short- and long-lifespan applications.
“For the packaging industry, plastic-free materials have often meant compromises between performance and scalability,” said Duncan Mayes, Chief Technology Officer at Fiberdom. “Demonstrating that a plastic-free fiber material can run in standard reel-to-reel production environments changes that equation and broadens what is realistically possible at industrial scale for converters, board producers, and brand owners working to meet new regulatory and brand requirements.”
Fiberdom’s material is already in commercial use in Finland in single-use cutlery products. Through these recent trials, Fiberdom continues to evaluate multiple production pathways as it advances toward serving broader industrial and packaging applications.
For additional information:
Contact: Tomi Järvenpää, General Manager
Fiberdom
+358 40 5476020
ABOUT FIBERDOM
Founded in 2019, Fiberdom is a Finnish materials innovation company that has created Duranova® a unique supermaterial from FSC-certified wood fibers. Fiberdom’s novel pulp and paperboard-based materials are 100% plastic-free, high-performance, strong, formable and durable, lightweight and cost-effective, recyclable and home-compostable.
Fiberdom’s technology can be utilized in various applications in food-contact materials, durable packaging and storage, and interior design and furniture – just to name a few. Working with partners, Fiberdom is scaling its technology and advancing new applications, enabling the shift to a plastic-free and circular society.
Today, Fiberdom’s commercial pilot factory in Vantaa, Finland, produces Duranova with home compostable cutlery as a first-in-market product. The cutlery is being sold across Finland with some of the biggest retailers in the market. Fiberdom has raised €3.5M in funding and is backed by industry leaders such as Heino Group, Nordic Foodtech VC, and Holdix.
Read more: www.fiberdom.com
