50,000 Ventilators in Michigan is to be produced by Ford in Next 100 Days; Partnering with GE Healthcare Will Help Coronavirus Patients
Ford Motor Company, in collaboration with GE Healthcare, declared on March 31, it will start manufacturing in Michigan a third-party ventilator with the target to manufacture 50,000 of the essentially wanted units within 100 days and up to 30,000 a month thereafter as required.
Ford will offer its producing potential to rapid scale production, and GE Healthcare will offer its clinical expertise and will license the present ventilator design from Airon Corp. a small, privately held company specializing in high-tech pneumatic life support products. GE Healthcare brought the Airon Corp. design to Fords attention as part of the organizations efforts to scale production of ventilators rapidly to help clinicians combat COVID-19 patients.
The GE/Airon Model A-E ventilator uses a design that functions on air pressure without the need for electricity, addressing the needs of most COVID-19 patients. Its production can be rapidly scaled to help meet increasing demand in the U.S.
The Ford and GE Healthcare teams, working innovatively and constantly, have found a way to manufacture this essentially required ventilator quickly and in meaningful numbers, stated Jim Hackett, Fords president and CEO. By manufacturing this ventilator in Michigan, in strong partnership with the UAW, we can assist health care workers save lives, and thats our No. 1 priority.
In accordance to White House Defense Production Act Coordinator Peter Navarro, the Ford/GE
Healthcare team is moving in Trump time to speed urgently needed ventilators to the front lines of the Trump Administrations full-scale war against the coronavirus. Just as Ford in the previous century moved its manufacturing might seamlessly from auto to tank production during World War II, the Ford team is working with GE Healthcare to use its awesome engineering and producing capabilities to voluntarily assist this nation solve one of its most pressing problems. We salute that effort and look forward to the first ventilators rolling off the Michigan assembly line in record time and well be there to salute that milestone.
Ford will initially send a team to work with Airon to boost production in Florida, and by the week of April 20, will start production at Fords Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., rapidly ramping up to reach full production to assist meet surging demand.
Ford predicts to manufacture 1,500 by the end of April, 12,000 by the end of May and 50,000 by July4 helping the U.S. government meet its target of manufacturing 100,000 ventilators in 100 days.
Fords Rawsonville Plant will manufacture the ventilators nearly around the clock, with 500 paid volunteer UAW-represented employees working on three shifts. Airon presently manufactures three Aironp Neuton Model A ventilators per day in Melbourne, Fla. At full production, Ford plans to make 7,200 Airon-licensed Model A-E ventilators per week.
From the days of Rosie the Riveter, UAW members have stepped up in the course of hard times in this nations history for the good of us all, said UAW International President Rory Gamble. The Recent declaration by Ford that UAW employees will make ventilators at Rawsonville is in that tradition. We are working very closely with Ford to ensure that all CDC guidelines are followed and that we are exercising an abundance of caution inside the plant. Ford and our UAW Ford members should be commended for stepping up in these very uncertain times.
The Airon-licensed Model A-E ventilator is the second Ford-GE Healthcare ventilator collaboration. Last week, Ford and GE Healthcare declared a separate effort to manufacture a simplified ventilator design from GE Healthcare. The GE Healthcare and Ford teams have already increased output of the R19 Ventilator. The combined ventilator supply will assist address the growing surge demand for ventilators around the U.S in the fight against COVID-19, each well suited to meet time, production volume and patient care requirements.
We applaud Ford for its efforts to lend its producing potential to assist quickly scale the Airon-licensed Model A-E ventilator and arm clinicians in the fight against COVID-19, stated GE Healthcare President and CEO Kieran Murphy. Our deep understanding of the health care industry with Fords supply chain and production expertise will help meet the unprecedented demand for medical equipment. We continue to be encouraged by how quickly companies are coming together in innovative ways to address this collective challenge.
GE Heathcare and Ford consulted with medical experts in determining the Airon-licensed
Model A-E ventilator is well suited for COVID-19 patient care. The design is expected to meet the needs ofmostCOVID-19 patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing. The ventilator is designed for quick setup, making it easy for healthcare workers to use and can be deployed in an emergency room setting, during special procedures or in an intensive care unit, wherever the patient may be located.
Ford, along with the companies it is supporting, will provide additional updates as these special projects progress.
