The invention provides an apparatus for separating a cone sleeve (4) from a nested stack of cone sleeves (1) the apparatus comprising a chamber (2) having an upper (7) and a lower (8) surface connected by a wall or walls (6), the upper surface (7) having an upper circular opening (3) and the lower surface (8) having a lower circular opening (5) characterised in that the upper circular opening (3) has a circumference of from 100-135% of the maximum circumference of the cone sleeve (4), the lower circular opening (5) has a circumference of from 95-99.5% of the maximum circumference of the cone sleeve (4), and the chamber (2) has inlets (9) connectable to a pressurised gas supply. The invention also provides process that employs the apparatus, the process comprising the steps of providing a stack of nested cone sleeves (1)； placing the lowermost end of the stack into the chamber (2) from above the chamber (2)； and allowing the lowermost cone sleeve (4) to sit within the lower circular opening (5) and allowing the cone sleeves above the lowermost cone sleeve (4) to protrude from the top of the chamber (2) characterised in that pressurised gas is introduced into the chamber via the inlets (9) thereby to create an elevated pressure within the chamber (2).L'invention concerne un appareil pour séparer un manchon conique (4) d'une pile de manchons coniques emboîtés (1), l'appareil comprenant une chambre (2) ayant une surface supérieure (7) et une surface inférieure (8) reliées par une ou plusieurs parois (6), la surface supérieure (7) ayant une ouverture circulaire supérieure (3) et la surface inférieure (8) ayant une ouverture circulaire inférieure (5), caractérisé en ce que l'ouverture circulaire supérieure (3) présente une circonférence mesurant entre 100 et 135 % de la circonférence maximale du manchon conique (4), l'ouverture circulaire inférieure (5) présente une circonférence mesurant entre 95 et 99,5 % de la circonférence maximale du manchon conique (4), et la chambr
