An apparatus for erecting folded carton blanks has a picking assembly for grasping a carton blank from a magazine. The picking assembly is disposed for rotational movement from a first position proximate the magazine to a second position proximate an abutment that engages a corner of the carton blank. A gate disposed for rotational movement is driven in a timed relation with the picking assembly. As the picking assembly moves from its first to its second position, the gate applies a breaking pressure which facilitates air flow through the interior of the carton blank. At or immediately prior to the time that the corner of the carton blank engages the abutment, the gate applies an erecting force that facilitates opening the carton blank to its fully erected state.