Ford works with 3M, GE, UAW to speed production of respirators

Ford is joining forces with firms including 3M and General Electric (GE) Healthcare, and is lending its manufacturing and engineering expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.

In addition, Ford plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week and leverage its in-house 3D printing capability to produce components for use in personal protective equipment.

Ford and GE Healthcare are working together to expand production of a simplified version of GE Healthcare's existing ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing caused by COVID-19.These ventilators could be produced at a Ford manufacturing site in addition to a GE location.

Meanwhile, Ford's U.S.A design team is also quickly creating and testing transparent full-face shields. The face shields fully block accidental contact with liquids, and pairing with N95 respirators limits potential exposure more effectively than N95 respirators alone.

Ford has also kicked off a working team to help hospitals locate and secure urgently needed surgical and N95 respirators. Ford has so far committed sending Henry Ford Health Systems 40,000 surgical masks while it locates additional supplies.