GM, Ventec have completed the federal contract for 30K ventilators
KOKOMO, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Workers at the General Motors plant in Kokomo have delivered the final shipment of a federal contract to produce 30,000 critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
GM (NYSE: GM) forged a partnership in March with Washington-based Ventec Life Systems to produce the ventilators after receiving a $489 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
On Monday, the last batch of ventilators left the plant. GM has now formally turned over operational control of the ventilator production in Kokomo to Ventec.
According to the companies, the order was completed in 154 days, with one ventilator completed about every seven minutes.
“Our drive to put critical care ventilators into production was fueled by thousands of people at GM, Ventec and our suppliers who all wanted to do their part to help save lives during the pandemic,” said Mary Barra, GM chairman and chief executive officer. “It was inspiring to see so many people achieve so much so quickly.”
Ventec says it will continue to produce critical care ventilators in Kokomo, as well as its facility in Washington in response to ongoing demand during the pandemic.
“Our hope continues to be that mitigation efforts stop the spread of this virus. Ventec Life Systems is committed to maintaining increased production capacity for as long as it is needed to ensure frontline healthcare workers have the tools necessary to save lives,” said Ventec Life Systems CEO Chris Kiple.
There is no word yet from Ventec how long it will continue to produce the machines in Kokomo.
“Throughout this year we have continually assessed our ventilator manufacturing capacity and the need for ventilators and expect to continue doing so as long as the pandemic persists,” said Chris Brooks, Ventec’s chief strategy officer. Ventec says its monthly ventilator production increased 80 times during the pandemic, requiring the need to build-up its staffing.
“My daughter is a physician assistant and my wife works for a blood center. But it wasn’t until GM started this project in late March that it hit home for me,” said Mike Schroeder, shift leader at the Kokomo plant. “The moment I saw our first shipment of critical care ventilators being received at the hospitals by the doctors and medical staff was the moment I realized the importance of what we were doing.”