An apparatus for serially delivering filling media to spaced apart cavities of an endless filter rod, which includes a conveyor which conveys a strip of plug wrap along a feed path, a transfer wheel arrangement which serially delivers filter segments to the plug wrap as it moves along the feed path such that the filter segments are arranged in plug-space-plug relation with cavities separated by the filter segments, and a filling wheel which rotates about a horizontal axis and includes pockets or cleats which receive filling media at the loading zone and deliver the filling media to the cavities at a discharge station along the feed path.