Packaging firm fined after worker's hand crushed

A plastic packaging manufacturer has been fined for the second time in less than a year after a worker's hand was crushed in a laminator machine.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Reflex Flexible Packaging Limited was fined £60,000 on Monday after an employee suffered a severe crush injury while cleaning a machine.

The Mansfield-based company was also fined £277,500 in November 2025 after an employee died when he became trapped in an unguarded machine at the company's site in Langley Mill, Derbyshire.

Inspector Zach Morris, from the HSE, said the second incident, which happened at the company's site in Halesfield, Telford on 17 January 2025, was "entirely preventable".

The HSE said the worker, a laminator operative and shift supervisor, was injured while cleaning a laminator machine using rags after a production run had finished.

As they cleaned the machine, a rag became caught between two in-running rollers and pulled their left hand into the nip point between them.

Their hand was drawn into the machine up to the wrist before a colleague immediately activated the emergency stop, allowing the worker to free their hand from the machine.

They spent four nights in hospital, where they underwent two operations on their left hand and later required physiotherapy to rebuild strength.

A HSE investigation found Reflex had failed to ensure effective measures were in place to prevent access to the dangerous moving parts of the laminating machine.

The company had failed to provide a fixed guard to prevent access to the in-running nip point between the rollers during cleaning operations, investigators said.

The investigation also revealed that the company's risk assessment and safe system of work were not suitable and sufficient.

"This incident was entirely preventable," said Morris.

"Reflex Flexible Packaging Limited failed to ensure that effective measures were in place to prevent access to dangerous parts of the laminating machine during cleaning operations.

"Dangerous moving parts of machinery continue to cause serious injuries in workplaces across Great Britain.

"Duty holders should not focus solely on normal machine operation when considering access to dangerous parts.

"They must also consider activities such as cleaning, maintenance, and repair where workers may be exposed to dangerous parts of machinery that are inaccessible during normal operations."

Reflex Flexible Packaging Limited, of Vision House, Hamilton Way, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 5BU, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £4,464 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

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