Abstract: An apparatus for preheating and charging scrap material includes a throat section (38) having at one end thereof a material charging inlet (37) connected to a furnace shell (2), the throat section extending laterally and upwardly obliquely, a heat exchanger section (39) connected to the other end of the throat section (38) and extending upwardly, a sealing section (42) above the heat exchanger section (39), a material supply (43) for supplying the scrap material into the sealing section (42), an exhaust duct (53) formed at the heat exchanger section (39) just below the sealing section (42) and connected to an exhaust system (58) and a material delivery device (46) disposed at the other end of the throat section (38) for delivering the scrap material (13) from the heat exchanger section (39) to the material charging inlet (37). The scrap material (13) is substantially continuously charged into the furnace shell (2) while preheated by the high-temperature exhaust gases from the furnace shell (2).