New Manufacturer Launches Operations In Barnsley To Provide British-Made Alternative To Imported Pots

British Flowerpots Ltd, a newly formed manufacturing business, has commissioned a new factory in Barnsley, South Yorkshire following the merger of two established companies.

The new company, which has initially created 10 manufacturing jobs, aims to double down on providing a British-made frost-proof alternative to the imported pots which dominate the offerings of most garden centres and DIY superstores.

Barnsley-based Naylor Industries has been manufacturing terracotta flowerpots under the Yorkshire Flowerpots brand since 2000; Welsh manufacturer Smith & Jennings since 2010.

Recognising their respective strengths, the two businesses agreed to pool resources earlier this year and have merged to form a combined entity, British Flowerpots Ltd, which has spent the last six months – and a seven-figure sum – building a new factory on a two acre site at Cawthorne, near Barnsley.

The new operation – complete with presses, dryer and Italian kiln – became operational earlier this month, and is now set to offer a new and exciting range of both glazed and unglazed pots to the UK garden and leisure sector with effect from spring 2025.

Simon Smith, managing director of the new business, said:
“We’re excited about the potential for a British champion and see the coming together of Smith & Jennings’ design-led business and Naylor’s commercial infrastructure as having tremendous potential. Our new factory has the capacity to manufacture about five times more pots than we were able to produce in Wales.”

Liz Hudston, general manager, added:
“Much of what is imported is unsuited to the British climate and the market has a clear appetite for a frost-proof, British-made pot."

A factory shop at Cawthorne carries an enhanced range of products covering designs previously made by both Naylor and Smith & Jennings.