Apparatus for controlling the tension and predetermined rate of movement of a continuous strip of elongated material being fed to and/or withdrawn from a processing station for processing at a predetermined processing rate is disclosed. The apparatus includes a pair of pivotable control arms, in which the first control arm is pivotable about a fixed pivot point and the second control arm is pivotable about the end of the first control arm, a spring between the two control arms whereby upon pivoting of the second control arm the spring transmits only a portion of the movement of that arm to the first control arm, and a speed controller for controlling the predetermined rate of movement of the strip in response to movement of the first control arm.