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Press release: Thornbury opens the Salford works
The release as written, plus the angles, the outlets and the two facts that have to be checked before it goes out.
The announcement as you described it was that you have opened a new factory. That is not news to anyone outside the company. The news is that you brought production back from Portugal and hired 19 people in Salford to do it, and that is the version written below.
A company opening a building is not a story. A company moving manufacturing back to the UK, hiring 19 local people and saying publicly why it stopped being cheaper abroad is a story, and it is one three types of outlet are actively looking for. Two facts in the draft need checking before this goes anywhere.
News value
Why this is a story, and why your version was not
| What you said | Why it does not travel | What replaces it |
|---|---|---|
| We have opened a new facility | Every company that opens a building says this | We moved production back from Portugal |
| State of the art equipment | Unverifiable and every release says it | Named kiln, named capacity, a number |
| Investing in our future | Means nothing to a reader | USD 1.4m, and what it bought |
| Creating jobs | No number, so no story | 19 roles, 14 already filled, Salford |
| Committed to sustainability | A claim with no evidence attached | Cut, unless you can evidence it |
The release
As written, ready to send
For immediate release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday 12 October 2026
THORNBURY CERAMICS BRINGS PRODUCTION BACK FROM PORTUGAL,
CREATING 19 JOBS IN SALFORD
Thornbury Ceramics has moved its tableware production back to the
UK after eleven years in Portugal, opening a GBP 1.4 million works
in Salford and creating 19 manufacturing jobs, 14 of which are
already filled.
The 22,000 sq ft site on Ordsall Lane began production on
5 October and will make the company's full tableware range,
around 400,000 pieces a year. Production had been based near
Aveiro since 2015.
"Portugal stopped being cheaper about three years ago and we kept
pretending it still was," said Anwen Price, managing director of
Thornbury Ceramics. "Once you add shipping, the six week lead time
and the cost of being wrong about what customers want, making it
here is the better decision. It took us two years to admit it."
The move cuts the company's lead time from six weeks to nine days
and allows short production runs that were not viable when
shipping containers from Portugal.
Thornbury has hired 14 people so far, including six with previous
ceramics experience from the Stoke-on-Trent area, and is
recruiting for five further roles.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. Thornbury Ceramics was founded in 1998 and employs 34 people.
2. Images available: the works, the kiln line, Anwen Price on site.
3. Anwen Price is available for interview from 12 October.
Media contact: [name], [email], [phone]Angles
Four angles, and who they are for
| Angle | For | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Reshoring: why abroad stopped being cheaper | National business desks, trade press | Strongest |
| 19 jobs in Salford | Manchester and regional news, local radio | Strong |
| Nine day lead time and short runs | Retail and design trade press | Good, narrow |
| Founder story, 1998 to now | Podcasts, business interview slots | Slow burn |
| Outlet category | What they want | Send them |
|---|---|---|
| Regional news and radio | Jobs, local names, a photograph of the place | Release plus the works image, offer a visit |
| National business desks | A trend with a real example and a real number | Release, lead on reshoring, offer the interview |
| Ceramics and homeware trade | Capacity, lead times, equipment specifics | Release plus the kiln line image and the production numbers |
| Manufacturing and industry press | The economics, honestly stated | Release, and be ready to give the actual cost comparison |
MediaDesk does not contact outlets on your behalf and has no relationships to offer. These are categories and what each one wants, so that you or your PR contact send the right version to the right desk.
Questions
What you will be asked, including the awkward one
What happened to the Portuguese workers?
The single hardest question and it will come from the first journalist. You need a true, short, non defensive answer agreed before 12 October. Do not improvise it.
Is this because of tariffs or Brexit?
Whatever you think, a short factual answer is better than a political one. Yours is about shipping cost and lead time, so say that.
Will prices go up?
Retail and trade will both ask. Decide the answer with your commercial lead first.
How many of the 19 are full time and permanent?
Regional press always asks. If any are part time or fixed term, say so in the release rather than being corrected later.
What was the grant or public support?
If there was any, disclose it unprompted. It becomes a different story if a journalist finds it themselves.
Are you still using the Portuguese factory at all?
A yes with a reason is fine. A no that turns out to be a yes is not.
Before sending
Fact check and approvals
| Item | Status | Who confirms |
|---|---|---|
| GBP 1.4 million investment figure | Unverified. Supplied verbally | Finance, in writing |
| 400,000 pieces a year capacity | Unverified. Estimated by production | Production lead |
| 22,000 sq ft | Confirmed, lease | Done |
| 19 roles, 14 filled | Confirmed, HR | Done |
| Nine day lead time | Confirmed, two runs | Done |
| Since 2015 in Aveiro | Confirmed | Done |
| The quote | Verbatim, needs your sign off | Anwen Price |
- Both unverified figures confirmed in writing before the release leaves the building
- The Portugal answer agreed and written down, not improvised
- Images ready before sending, not after a journalist asks
- A named person available on the phone on 12 October, all day
- Embargo decided: this release is written as immediate, not embargoed