PURPOSE: To permit an exact centering of articles, irrespective of their differing diameters, by providing a centering device between an article conveyor and a lifter for the saggers containing the articles, transferring the article on the conveyor onto the base of the centering device by a transfer device and centering the article on the base relative to the sagger by a head.

CONSTITUTION: An article 7 is transferred by a suction pad 65 of a transfer device 6 from the divided section 23 of an arranging conveyor 2 onto the base 31 of a centering device 3 so as to be set in a temporary centering position thereof. The article thus centered is then retainably moved by a V-shaped centering head 33 driven by a centering air cylinder 32 onto a final centering device where the article 7 is finally centered. Also, the position of the head 33 can be adjusted according to the size of the article 7 by an adjusting handle 34 intended for adjusting their different diameters. The article 7 on the base 31 of the centering device 3 is placed in a sagger 8 on a stacking lifter 5 by a suction pad 66.