PURPOSE: To group articles in a continuous infeed stream through a series of spacer elements adapted to engage successive articles from the infeed stream and to locate the articles relative to one another as the articles are conveyed through a working reach of a mechanism.

CONSTITUTION: A series of spacer elements 16 have cam followers for co-operating with a rotatable cylindrical cam which cause one group of articles to be spaced apart in the feed direction from a next succeeding groups of articles while the spacer elements move through the working reach. A return transfer belt 40 is provided to return the spacer elements along a return reach R so as to correctly provide one interval between with a following spacer element so that the spacer elements can grasp the successive articles in the infeed stream.