Fuente: WIPO "tomato" There is described a folding apparatus (16) comprising a plurality of retaining pockets (30), a conveying device (31) configured to advance the retaining pockets (30) along an endless path (R) and through a receiving station (32) at which the semi-finalized packs (5) are fed into respective retaining pockets (30) and a release station (33) at which the finalized packages (2) are released, a manipulation assembly (34) configured to execute a plurality of manipulation steps on the semi-finalized packs (5) advancing, in use, within the retaining pockets (30) and between the receiving station (32) and the release station (33) so as to form the finalized packages (2) from the semi-finalized packs (5). The manipulation assembly (34) is configured to manipulate the semi finalized packs (5) when, in use, advancing along a first operative section (R1a) and along a second operative section (R1b) of the endless path (R).