A friction conveyor system comprises a conveyor means (10) including a plurality of conveyor elements (16,18) arranged transverse to the conveying direction (12). The conveyor elements (16,18) are partly driven and partly arranged for free rotation. A workpiece carrier (30) can be loosely placed on the conveyor means (10). For conveying the workpiece carriers (30), use is made of disk-shaped transmission elements (26) connected to the driven conveyor elements (18). The transmission elements (26) are in contact with a friction element (38). The friction elements (38) are connected to an actuation element (46). By actuation of the actuation element (46), the friction element (38) is moved into disengaged position in which the transmission elements (26) are not engaged with the friction elements (38) anymore.