A Tauranga roofing company has been fined $25,000 after one of its former employees had his hand crushed in a machine at work.

Roof Manufacturers Limited has also offered to pay the injured man $10,000 reparation.

Roof Manufacturers Ltd has been fined after being sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday.

The Birch Avenue-based company was in Tauranga District Court yesterday for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of failing to take practical steps to ensure an employee's safety.

The charges stem from an incident on July 31, 2013, when an employee reached into a mechanical folding machine to clear something from it.

While the man's arm was inside, another man started the machine trapping the man's hand.

'It's appalling this happened, as the machine was designed to prevent this sort of injury,” Judge Thomas Ingram told the court.

Judge Ingram said while the machine could have been operated on a two pedal system, meaning two people had to push down pedals at the same time to run the machine, nobody knew about this function until after the accident.

'As soon as they knew, the company took steps to have this system in place to prevent any further accidents. A laser detection system has also been installed as a back-up.

'The man had also been told not to do what he did and he did it anyway. He was given training and he ignored it.”

Judge Ingram believed the company did everything it could, 'there was nothing else it could do”.

'I accept the company is extremely remorseful. They tried to keep the man in employment after the accident, gave him shopping vouchers and offered to drive him to and from hospital appointments.

'The man has been unable to continue his employment and will have life-long issues stemming from the injury.”