(WWJ) -- Ford Motor Co. is teaming up with General Electric to produce 50,000 ventilators in Michigan over the next 100 days.
Ford and GE officials made the announcement Monday, saying production -- with the support of 500 UAW members -- will begin at Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti on April 20 to help battle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan.
Ford Vice President Jim Baumbick calls it a "go-fast project."
"Ford expects to produce 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days, with the ability to produce 30,000 a month thereafter, as needed," Baumbick said.
Workers will be producing a new, simple ventilator that was designed by Florida-based Airon Corp. The model operates on air pressure, rather than electricity, and are designed to help patients that are experiencing respiratory failure and trouble breathing. Along with cough and fever, shortness of breath is one of the three main symptoms of COVID-19, which has created a large demand for ventilators.
The work will be done by UAW members who have volunteered to return to work for this purpose. They will receive regular pay for this project, according to WWJ Auto Beat Reporter Jeff Gilbert.
The devices, which have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, are not as complex as some ventilators, but meet the needs of COVID-19 patients, according to Baumbick.
"The reduction in complexity around this Airon device enables us to actually move more swiftly, given the urgent surge in need," Baumbick said.
Hospitals across Michigan and the U.S. are running short on many medical supplies amid the pandemic, including ventilators. The federal government has set a goal to obtain 100,000 ventilators in the next 100 days, as the U.S. became the first country to surpass 100,000 total coronavirus cases.
In Michigan, state health officials say just under 6,500 people had tested positive for the virus, as of Monday afternoon, with the death toll approaching 200 people statewide.
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