Abstract: A carousel rotatable about a fixed axis carries a plurality of treatment units which are mounted on the carousel removably for easy repair and replacement. A supply fixed adjacent the carousel feeds a strip of pressable material tangentially toward the carousel. Each of the units has a cutter for severing from this strip a portion of the pressable material, a gripper for holding the strip during such severing, a winder for rolling up each of the severed portions into a tampon blank, a press for compressing the tampon blank into a finished tampon, and a heater for heating and thermally fixing the finished tampon. These various devices are all controlled by at least one cam fixed adjacent the carousel and operatively engageable with the various elements of each unit for synchronously operating same and thereby automatically producing tampons at a high production rate.