It's good that the furnaces have moved to the mainland as it was just too expensive to keep producing on the island. Everything had to be imported, mind you, everything and then it all had to be exported including all the waste and garbage. Transportaion costs had to be enormous and it wasn't possible to bring any well sized boats to the island for shipping. Every time you have to move a box it gets to be expensive. As I recall they were not setup to handle 40' containers coming directly from the island, but that may have changed in recent years. I had also heard that some of the furnaces had been purchased by Chinese financial groups. They have lots of cash and in the long run it may help sustain the production of glass in the area. Trying to get all the gas and electricity to the island had to get more difficult and costly every year. The world's wealth is changing locations and so with it goes the market for luxury goods including glass.