Disclosed herein is an apparatus and a method for receiving and straightening four edge pieces of cloth, the apparatus having a machine direction parallel with a delivery direction of the straightened cloth, the apparatus comprising; at least three charger stations, each for receiving a piece of cloth and locating a pair of adjacent fore edge corners of the cloth, a set of spreader clamps for releasably receiving the pair of adjacent fore edge corners, at least two grippers, each for conveying the pair of fore edge corners from the charger station to the set of spreader clamps, where the grippers are configured to move along at least a portion of a first path transversally to the machine direction, wherein at least one central charger station has a first waiting location for the cloth with the corners being located, the waiting location being retracted opposite the machine direction from the set of spreader clamps away from the first path.