General Motors and Ventec Life Systems will proceed with their plans to expand production of … [+]
General Motors and Ventec Life Systems on Friday reiterated their plans to make desperately needed ventilators at a GM plant in Indiana, apparently in response to President Donald Trump’s twitter rant blaming the automaker.
Bothell, Washington-based Ventec, based in Seattle, will provide the design for its government-approved ventilators to GM, which is tooling a parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., to produce them for shipment sometime in April. Ventec will expand production at its plant in Bothell, near Seattle.
Earlier Friday morning, Trump unleased yet another Twitter tirade, this one directed at GM, after a New York Times report that said the voluntary initiative by GM and Ventec was stalled by the White House’s contention that the $1 billion cost was excessive.
“General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed ventilators, ‘very quickly’. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said his state needs 30,000 ventilators as soon as possible as the volume of COVID-19 cases is beginning to push New York City hospitals beyond their capacity.
“They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed ventilators, ‘very quickly’. Now they are saying it will only be 6,000, in late April, and they want top dollar.”
But a source familiar with negotiations between the White House said that GM would receive no money directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or any government agency. Rather, the contract would be between the government and Ventec. GM would be a contractor to Ventec.
According to this source the $1 billion figure in the Times reporting is believed to be the total government allocation for ventilators and that Ventec was asking for about $250 million of that.
Part of the holdup with GM, according to the New York Times, is a misunderstanding over how many respirators the company can make. Another issue appears to be the price.
Citing a senior administration official, the Times said the administration thought GM could make 20,000 ventilators after three weeks, but that number dropped to 7,500, then 5,000.
Any production process would take time to reach level of 20,000 a month, but that quantity is still feasible, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. Units would be ready for sale by April, according to the source.
Trump’s confusing statements about Defense Production Act haven’t helped. That law empowers to federal government to order and direct production of urgently needed products in a national emergency.
GM also said Friday that it will begin manufacturing surgical masks next week at a plant in Warren, Michigan. Within two weeks it intends to make 50,000 masks each day, and ramp that up to 100,000 soon after.
Earlier this week Ford announced plans to collaborate with GE Healthcare to make a simpler version of its ventilators, as well as a separate effort between Ford and 3M to scale up production of respirators. In addition, Ford is converting a Michigan plant to make more than 100,000 plastic face shields for doctors, nurses, factory workers and store clerks.
But Trump also criticized Ford in his tweet.
Many manufacturers want to help. On Friday, Toyota said it was “finalizing agreements to begin working with at least two companies that produce ventilators and respirators to help increase their capacity.”
Toyota is pledging to produce 3D printed face shields, beginning next week, with the first shipment to be sent to the MD Anderson Hospital in Houston and the IT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
The automaker also has donated masks, safety glasses, shoe and boot covers, gloves, blankets and cotton swabs to hospitals on the front lines combatting the pandemic.
Many manufacturers want to help. On Friday, Toyota said it was “finalizing agreements to begin working with at least two companies that produce ventilators and respirators to help increase their capacity.”
Toyota is pledging to produce 3D printed face shields, beginning next week, with the first shipment to be sent to the MD Anderson Hospital in Houston and the IT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
The automaker also has donated masks, safety glasses, shoe and boot covers, gloves, blankets and cotton swabs to hospitals on the front lines combating the pandemic.
