A sheet member (12) is transported over a knife anvil (14) by a feed conveyor (32) movable from a first position (A) adjacent the knife anvil (14) to a second position (B) overlapping the knife anvil (14). The feed conveyor (32) has a moving belt (31) which is driven in a forward direction for transporting the sheet member (12) over the anvil (14) and to a takeaway conveyor (26). The belt (31) is driven in an opposite direction to pull the cut leading edge (99) of the sheet material (12) away from the end (51) of the feed conveyor (32) after cutting of the sheet material (12) and during movement of the feed conveyor (32) to the overlapping position (B) over the anvil (14). A rotary knife (16) is moved along the knife anvil (14) and is mounted for rocking of the knife (16) in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the knife (16) to provide a positive shear point (96).