Bennu Glass, based in Washington, USA, has opened for business and made its first production-quality wine bottles last week.

After buying the plant for $64.8 million at auction in March 2010, Bennu spent an additional $35 million to get it operating again. According to the company, the biggest expense was a $13 million furnace fueled by liquid oxygen and natural gas, which heats the batch to 2700°F and keeps the entire building warm.

The Cameron family of Pennsylvania had originally opened the plant in 2008, opting to power the melter with electricity. The company was ultimately unable to produce usable coloured glass and shut down the plant in September 2009.

Bennu, which plans to produce 100 million bottles a year, is owned by New York-based financial firm Medley Capital, which invested approximately $30 million in the $109 million Cameron plant.