In an apparatus for cutting to length sections of a spine insert (1) that is unwound from a supply reel and for bringing together the spine inserts with infed cover boards (8) in a roller applicator (5, 6) for the mechanized production of book cases, the invention proposes that the pair of cut length transport rollers (3.1) for drawing forward a defined drawing-off length (L) of the spine insert (1) and for positioning the spine insert in the cutting device (9) and the pairs of feed rollers (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) for transporting the cut-to-length spine inserts (1) into the roller applicator (5, 6) through a transport channel (2) can be driven independently of one another, wherein the pairs of feed rollers (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) can be intermittently driven in a cyclic fashion with a constant stroke (HZ) while the pair of cut length transport rollers (3.1) carry out the transport stroke (HS), that is variable due to the drawing-off length (L) and features a first motion segment (20a) for synchronizing with the transport movement of the pairs of feed rollers (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) and a second motion segment (20c, b) in which the pair of cut length transport rollers is synchronized with the pairs of the feed rollers (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) and transports the spine insert (1) together with the pairs of feed rollers.