A Timaru timber company and its director have been ordered to pay more than $450,000 in fines and reparations over the death of a 23-year-old worker.

Point Lumber and its director, Sean Sloper, were sentenced at Timaru District Court on Monday over the death of Ethyn McTier, who became entrapped in the drive roller of an unguarded conveyor belt in November 2022.

“Ethyn was only 23 years old, he had his whole life ahead of him, and his death was 100% preventable,” his family said in a statement after the sentencing.

A WorkSafe investigation found Point Lumber had failed to install required guarding along the length of the conveyor belt, which contributed to McTier's death.

“The hole that has been left in our lives is immeasurable.”

A WorkSafe investigation found Point Lumber had failed to install required guarding along the length of the conveyor, including in the area where McTier was drawn in.

The company had also ignored a 2017 recommendation from a safety consultant to safeguard the machinery.

In court, Judge Joanna Maze found that Sloper, who held “overall control of the company”, decided “what hazard mitigation was prioritised, what was completed and when”.

Sloper was fined $60,000 and Point Lumber $250,000, with $140,000 in reparations ordered to McTier’s family, including $20,000 paid prior to sentencing.

The penalties fall well short of the maximum $1.5 million the company could have faced and the $300,000 maximum for Sloper as an officer of the company.

Ethyn McTier was killed in a workplace accident at Point Lumber in Timaru in 2022.

WorkSafe acting regional manager Darren Handforth said endangering workers in this way was careless in the extreme: “These deaths were clearly preventable.

“In no way is it acceptable to be able to be killed at work on a conveyor belt.”

McTier’s death is the second conveyor-related fatality to reach sentencing in recent months.

In June, Ballance Agri-Nutrients was sentenced over the death of a worker killed in similar circumstances at its Mt Maunganui site.

The two cases have drawn sharp warnings from WorkSafe.

“The manufacturing sector must seize these two deadly incidents as a watershed moment for health and safety,” said Handforth.

“We implore businesses to ensure their machine guarding meets safety standards. If necessary, engage a qualified expert.

“Guarding saves lives. It’s as simple as that.”

Guarding refers to the use of physical barriers and safety devices to prevent workers from coming into contact with dangerous moving parts on machinery.

According to WorkSafe, 67% of 304 manufacturing sites inspected in March were issued improvement notices.

“This sector is still causing too much harm. Businesses must manage their risks – and where they don’t, we will take action,” Handforth said.

McTier’s family said the sentencing marks the end of a very long and difficult legal process that the family had endured for over two years.

“We are thankful that Point Lumber and Sean Sloper have been held accountable for Ethyn’s death, but at the end of the day, we’ve lost someone who was a pillar in our family,” they said.

“We just hope this serves as a warning to other employers to take workplace safety more seriously.

“Their decisions and actions, or lack thereof, could mean the difference between life and death for someone else’s son or daughter, brother or sister.

“No family should ever have to go through the pain and loss we have experienced.”

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.