A £200,000 fine was handed down following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive, while the company was ordered to pay costs of £43,352.

The HSE investigation found the company had not assessed the hazards of using the machine and it had not been checked after modification. Inspectors also found there was no guarding to prevent access to the dangerous parts of the machine and Duco International had failed to give adequate information, instruction or training to employees using the machine.

Reading Crown Court heard that Mitesh Prashar, 24, of Slough, was operating an automatic inspection machine, which quality checks rolls of rubber and cloth printing blanket, moving through the machine from one reel to another.

At around 2am on 15 January 2008, colleagues heard Mr Prashar cry out. His body was found with his left arm, shoulder, head and torso trapped between the rubberised blanket and the roller. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

HSE Inspector Ray Kelly said: "This needless tragedy is typical of what can happen when health and safety management systems fail. Had the hazards been assessed, the lack of any guarding would have been highlighted, and this death could have been avoided."

A statement from the company said: "Everyone at the company, including its directors and employees, deeply regret the tragic death of Mitesh Prashar who was a highly valued member of the workforce.
 
"The company accepted its failings at the very earliest opportunity and co-operated fully with the HSE investigation.
 
"In addition, the company swiftly remedied the identified failings and took other measures to learn from the accident and to ensure that this could never happen again.
 
"The company and all associated with it are very sorry for the Prashar family’s loss and are determined to do all that they can to ensure that as much as possible is learned from this tragic accident."

Duco International also suffered a fire in December 2008.