Abstract: A paste hopper control system in which the weight and thickness of lead oxide paste applied to a stream of battery grid material from a hopper are independently controlled in response to in-line weight and thickness measurements obtained downstream of the paste hopper. Paste weight is independently controlled on the two sides of the stream by separately driving transversely spaced, independently rotatable hopper paddles in accordance with weight measurements obtained on the respective sides of the stream. Plate thickness is independently controlled on the two sides of the stream by adjusting the heights of the ends of a trowel roller in accordance with downstream thickness measurements and by adjusting the height of the hopper as a unit.