Following an announcement by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the UK’s aerospace, automotive and medical sectors have come together within the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, to produce 10,000 medical ventilators.
After this rallying call, the government have partnered a number of the UK’s leading technology and engineering firms with smaller manufacturers to rapidly build existing, modified or newly designed ventilators at speed, with seven priority projects underway. They are working to improve the speed at which current UK ventilator manufacturers can produce their devices, with larger companies changing their existing operations to help provide the UK with the equipment and personnel it needs for this effort.
ADS Members participating in the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium are: Accenture, Arrow Electronics, Airbus, BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, Meggitt, Rolls-Royce, Siemens UK, Smiths, Thales and Williams.
Welcoming the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said: “Today’s announcement that aerospace, automotive and medical companies are collaborating to produce ventilators is a demonstration of community endeavour in this time of national crisis.
“UK manufacturers are using their skills in producing complex and precision-engineered equipment to good use at this crucial time.
“It is incredibly important we all work together and the fantastic people we have working in the aerospace industry stand ready to play their part.”
Other companies participating in the consortium are: Dell Technologies, Ford, High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Inspiration Healthcare, Microsoft, Penlon, PTC, Renishaw, Siemens Healthineers, Ultra, Unilever, and UK-based F1 teams: Haas, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, BWT Racing and Renault.
Additionally, the government is also working with many other UK manufacturers to build, design and develop new effective, safe and easy-to-build ventilators.
Government officials are currently working with expert clinicians and health regulators to test all new machine designs, as patient safety is of paramount importance. Any new orders are all dependent on machines passing regulatory tests, but the government, manufacturers and regulators are working at pace to drive this work forward.
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