Getting creative: Ford, 3M, GE, UAW unite to battle COVID

Editor: Lisa Lucke

Ford Motor Company, 3M and GE Healthcare are brainstorming ways to engineer and manufacture medical equipment and supplies for front line healthcare workers and responders, as well as patients fighting coronavirus.

Ford said in a released statement that it will use its 3D printing capability to produce disposable respirators for healthcare workers. Other efforts include joint efforts to increase manufacturing capacity of 3M’s powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) designs and collaborating on a new design that takes advantage of parts from both companies. and potentially be produced in a Ford factory by UAW workers. To expedite the plan, Ford has turned to salvaging its own parts, such as fans from the Ford F-150’s cooled seats for airflow, and 3M will pull HEPA air filters to filter airborne contaminants such as droplets that carry virus particles and portable tool battery packs to power the newly created respirators for up to eight hours. The first 1,000 prototype face shields will be put to the test this week at Detroit Mercy, Henry Ford Health Systems and Detroit Medical Center Sinai-Grace Hospitals, with another 75,000 expected to be produced this week and more than 100,000 face shields per week will be produced at Ford subsidiary Troy Design and Manufacturing’s facilities in Plymouth, Mich. In a press release, Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford said, “This is such a critical time for America and the world. It is a time for action and cooperation. By coming together across multiple industries, we can make a real difference for people in need and for those on the front lines of this crisis.” “Working with 3M and GE, we have empowered our teams of engineers and designers to be scrappy and creative to quickly help scale up production of this vital equipment,” said Jim Hackett, Ford’s president and CEO. “We’ve been in regular dialogue with federal, state and local officials to understand the areas of greatest needs. We are focusing our efforts to help increase the supply of respirators, face shields and ventilators that can help assist health care workers, first responders, critical workers as well as those who have been infected by the virus.” 3M CEO and Chairman of the Board Mike Roman said, “We’re exploring all available opportunities to further expand 3M’s capacity and get healthcare supplies as quickly as possible to where they’re needed most – which includes partnering with other great companies like Ford. It’s crucial that we mobilize all resources to protect lives and defeat this disease, and I’m incredibly grateful to Ford and their employees for this partnership.” Additional assistance from Ford includes helping hospitals find and secure urgently needed surgical and N95 respirators. Ford has so far promised Henry Ford Health Systems the delivery of 40,000 surgical masks and help locating additional supplies. Ford’s efforts abroad include partnering in China with Jiangling Motors, which has donated 10 specially equipped transit ambulance vans to hospitals in Wuhan, the virus’s original epicenter. Ford is re-acquiring 165,000 N95 respirators from China that were originally sent by Ford to China earlier this year.

Santa Fe Springs, California-based Royal Flex Circuits is ramping up capacity at its year-old manufacturing facility to be produce more of the printed circuits needed in the production of ventilators used specifically in the treatment of Coronavirus.

Fremont, California-based Lam Research Corporation has issued a business update for its quarter ending March 31, 2020.

In response to Panasonic’s announcement this week of a temporary, full suspension of production of its operations at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, Tesla also issued a statement that it would significantly decrease production at the site.

Swedish EMS provider NOTE has, in line with the UK authorities' decision to limit all non-essential travel and work, temporarily halted its production at its manufacturing facility in Windsor.

Texas Instruments is following a Dallas County shelter-in-place order and reducing operations at the company’s Dallas-area plants.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 480 million loan agreement with LG Chem Wroclaw Energy, the Polish subsidiary of the LG Chem Group that was established to develop the group’s battery production facility in Europe.

The worldwide spread of the coronavirus is not only increasing the demand for personal protective equipment, but also for medical ventilators.

Total North American PCB shipments in February 2020 were down 1.1% compared to the same month last year.

Senior Trump administration officials have reportedly agreed on new restrictions to curb the global supply of chips to China’s Huawei Technologies, sources are saying.

Tesla has joined industry efforts to shift production from autos and other non-healthcare related components to much needed supplies that support the domestic battle against rising numbers of coronavirus victims and the need for testing.

Developed in just six weeks, Bosch says the rapid test can detect a COVID-19 infection in patients in under two and a half hours – measured from the time the sample is taken to the time the result arrives.

Both EMS giants are complying with the nationwide lockdown ordered by Prime minister Narendra Modi. Both Foxconn and Wistron have now suspended production at their plants in India.