Aetna Group returns as a key player at Pack Expo International 2026, scheduled from 18 to 21 October at McCormick Place in Chicago, bringing to the United States for the first time Power Cut, the new option for Robot S7 designed for the fruit and vegetable sector, which eliminates the need for manual film cutting. The Chicago stop is part of the Lightning Bolt World Tour, the international program through which the Group brings the latest innovations in end‑of‑line automation directly to the field.
The event is the largest packaging and processing show in the Americas: its most recent edition recorded over 2,700 exhibitors and around 48,000 visitors from more than 40 industry sectors. Aetna Group will occupy Booth S‑3766 in the South Hall, with an exhibition space of approximately 500 m² where Robopac and OCME will present the entire end‑of‑line process: from wrapping to palletizing, all the way to intralogistics automation.
Robot S7 will be one of the flagship Robopac technologies: in addition to Power Cut, the highly flexible self‑propelled wrapper will be showcased with the new Power Air film carriage, designed to improve film application performance and adapt to different load types and packaging environments. These two innovations address a concrete need of American production lines: reducing manual intervention without sacrificing flexibility and speed.
The rest of the Robopac wrapping range includes: Masterwrap CWE, the semi‑automatic rotary‑arm solution for heavy and irregular loads, presented with the new Electrical Clamp system, which ensures improved film handling, greater reliability and advanced automation capabilities for semi‑automatic wrapping applications; Rotoplat 708 PVS, debuting with a volumetric device to detect pallet dimensions and optimize wrapping parameters; and the LT Automatic Stretch Wrapper. Completing the automatic range is Helix 3 EVO, Robopac’s high‑performance rotary‑arm wrapper designed for demanding production environments requiring high load stability, high throughput and consistent wrapping performance.
For secondary packaging, the TC Prasmatic series handles shrink wrapping and case packing between 35 and 85 packs per minute on medium‑ and high‑speed production lines, while the specialized brand TopTier presents the TTX series, a traditional low‑infeed row‑forming palletizer available with integrated pallet wrapping. Designed specifically to address the shortage of skilled operators and limited production space, it is the smallest footprint solution in its category—an accessible automation system that stabilizes operations without requiring major infrastructure investments.
Also taking center stage will be the OCME Auriga ATL LGV, which will demonstrate automatic truck loading on the booth using a dedicated simulator: a concrete preview of how warehouse automation will reshape logistics in the coming years.
Throughout the show, Aetna Group’s Digital Stage will host daily talks on packaging automation, sustainability, labor reduction, smart manufacturing and end‑of‑line system integration.
Behind the technologies on display is a long‑standing presence in the region: Aetna Group USA, based in Duluth, Georgia, has been operating locally for over 25 years with a “local for local” model that ensures consulting, technical support and after‑sales service just like a domestic supplier. Moreover, the Group’s strength in the Americas was reinforced in 2015 with the acquisition of TopTier, based in Portland, Oregon, a key asset in its expansion strategy across the continent.
In Chicago, four days and one booth will tell this entire story.
