(WXYZ) — General Motors says that in less than a month they have begun producing and delivering 30,000 ventilators that were ordered by the Department of Health and Human Services from their retooled plant in Kokomo, Indiana.
The ventilators are part of the company's joint venture with Ventec Life Systems to produce the V+Pro critical care ventilator.
GM says 600 ventilators will be delivered this month, then almost half of the order will be filled by the end of June. The full order is expected to be completed by August, and GM says they will have the capacity to build more ventilators after August if they are needed.
“Thousands of men and women at GM, Ventec, our suppliers and the Kokomo community have rallied to support their neighbors and the medical professionals on the front lines of this pandemic,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in a news release. “Everyone wants to help turn the tide and save lives. It is inspiring and humbling to see the passion and commitment people have put into this work.”
Said White House Assistant to the President Peter Navarro: “GM has moved swiftly in Trump time to manufacture one of the most critical lifesaving devices in America’s war against the coronavirus. GM’s rapid mobilization of America’s manufacturing might in defense of our country is a proud salute to the ingenuity of its engineers, the true grit of its UAW workers on the line, and America’s doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals fighting for our lives at the front lines. As these lifesaving ventilators roll off GM’s assembly line as fast as tanks once did in an earlier World War, they will be rapidly deployed to the hospitals of Gary, Chicago, and far beyond.”
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