Abstract: An unwind stand for unwinding rolled material is disclosed in which a movable carriage mounted on a stationary frame includes at least two roll holders adapted to support a roll of material and a shifting mechanism connected to the movable carriage for moving the carriage between a first unwinding position in which a first roll of material supported by a first roll holder is positioned for unwinding, and a second unwinding position in which a second roll of material supported by a second roll holder is positioned for unwinding. Once a roll is in the unwinding position, the shifting mechanism also functions to maintain the material unwinding from the roll in an alignment position in response to an alignment detector by making fine adjustments to the lateral position of the carriage. The unwind stand may also include a rotatable wheel connected to a carrier slidably mounted on a rodless cylinder for applying a radial braking force to the roll of material, thereby imparting tension to the unwinding material.