At the time the company generally provided higher quality employment regarding terms and conditions and pension rights than other local firms.
ICI Ardeer was its own community; with a bank, a travel agency, and a dentist located on the site to provide services to these employees.
Although the line no longer serves the plant, the abandoned platform remains, hidden beneath dense undergrowth.
The factory had its own jetty on the River Garnock in Irvine Harbour serving ships that were delivering explosives that had reached their expiration date, or importing raw materials for the works.
The site is now a flourishing energetics (explosives) business employing some 300 people as the Scottish division of Chemring Group, an LSE Public Company.