The invention relates to a palletizing apparatus comprising a set-down belt which has a circulating conveyor belt that defines a transport face for transporting article layers, and a compressing apparatus which has at least one front-side stop and one rear-side stop, wherein the set-down belt is movable in a longitudinal direction (X) relative to the compressing apparatus between a first longitudinal position, in which the transport face is arranged in a manner offset in the longitudinal direction (X) with respect to the compressing apparatus, and a second longitudinal position, in which an article layer located on the transport face is arranged between the stops in the longitudinal direction (X). Here, the set-down belt comprises a first deflection roller that is rotatable about a first axis of rotation, wherein a diameter of the first deflection roller is at most 2% of the width of the conveyor belt. Also provided is a control device for controlling the set-down belt, said control device being set up to drive the circulating conveyor belt with variable speeds such that, when the set-down belt moves from the second longitudinal position into the first longitudinal position, the article layer located on the transport face is pushed temporally in succession against the front-side stop and against the rear-side stop. The invention also relates to a method for operating a palletizing apparatus according to the invention.