James Gibson the onset of new health and safety legislation added to that they moved production to Thailand which was both cheaper and less stringent with health and safety and workers rights. Infact could have saved time and just said MONEY

didn't know ICI was ever state-owned ... used to work for them once, got my free shares & sold them straight away. Parts of it might have has state-oversight/funding during war-time I should imagine

Billingham and Ardeer were totally different sites, yes Billingham was a huge Chemical Works, Ardeer was started a explosives only and chemicals were added. Ardeer site size was 15 square miles, so don't know where the dwarf bit comes from. Explosives at Billingham??? The original Anhydride was going to be part of Explosives until they discovered it was a fertiliser and the rest is history. Both sites are now shadows of their former selves. Ardeer chemicals are all gone and at the time of the film there were not many left and a few shut within couple of years. Explosives are still there on a much smaller scale owned by Chemring. I know Ardeer and I also know Billingham, Worked at Ardeer, North Tees then Billingham

It’s not a competition

@@alanbrannigan7934 Probably Ardeer was that big in area due to stuff being spread out for safety reasons, but Billingham was probably bigger on a tonnes-output capability scale I suspect

Thanks William, I grew up in Stevenston . My late father worked as a Senior Electrical Engineer for ICI for most of his adult life and retired in the early 70's. His father, brothers and sister also worked in ICI Ardeer dating back to the 1900's . I have lived overseas since I was 21, and for over 40 years now, visiting the area occasionally. I live in Hong Kong and I understand the concept of health and safety, but I always thought there was a little bit more to the total demise of a multi- faceted British chemical and explosive industry employing thousands of professional engineers , tradesmen, skilled workers and support staff, than simply health and safety ? The community there of which I am still so proud and grateful for such an ICI supported start in life is one that is slowly and surely dying with little hope on the horizon. I do believe there is a far darker story to be told explaining the political pressures that moved many of the ( non explosive) production industries south of the border and abandoned a complete community of 40,000 people with such haste.........I need to know more ...were you an ICI man yourself ? Maggie T celebrated as she hammered the nails into the coffin and buried the traditional industries of the UK ......but fear there is more to this little story of ICI than simply cheap Thai labour.