Multiple Companies Transform to Produce Anti-Coronavirus Supplies

As the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic continues to spread, many countries companies are transforming to produce medical supplies and equipments such as ventilators.

As the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic continues to spread, the shortage of anti-coronavirus materials in some countries and regions has gradually become apparent. The World Health Organization has stated that it is doing its best to ensure supply. At the same time, many countries are drawing on the experience of some Chinese companies in converting medical supplies to coordinate the transformation of their manufacturing companies to produce scarce equipment such as ventilators.

WHO Director-General Tan Desai said at a routine outbreak briefing held in Geneva on the 19th that WHO has shipped personal protective equipment to 68 countries and 1.5 million sets of novel coronavirus detection reagents to 120 countries Boxes, but supplies are still in short supply.

"I value personal protective equipment and diagnostic tools because many countries are in great demand for these supplies. We are doing our best, but the shortage of supplies will still be a challenge in the future," said Tandeser.

Tandesser said WHO is seeking help from companies. He mentioned the role of Chinese companies. Tan Desai said that WHO is arranging the purchase of anti-coronavirus supplies based on a list of agreed suppliers from China, and that final details are currently being finalized.

As a major manufacturing country in the world, in the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, many Chinese manufacturing companies successfully "cross-border" converted anti-coronavirus materials, which caused widespread concern.

For example, Shenzhen-based BYD originally produced new energy vehicles and electronic products, and had no connection with the medical field. However, after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, BYD quickly rebuilt the production line and it took only more than a month to achieve mass production of masks. Today, the daily production capacity of its mask production line and disinfection gel production line reaches 5 million and 300,000 bottles, respectively. A person in charge of BYD said that it plans to further increase production capacity and, after meeting domestic mask demand, will also supply it to countries with severe coronavirus pneumonia outbreaks.

Foreign media reported that Chinese companies' "cross-border" experience has been used by many countries for reference, and some countries have coordinated or are coordinating domestic manufacturers to transform and produce medical equipment such as ventilators.

In Italy with a severe outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia, the factories of famous car brands Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler are discussing how to cooperate with the Italian ventilator manufacturer Siare. According to media reports, these companies may have two ways of cooperation: one is to provide technical staff support to the ventilator factory to help the latter to increase production; the other is to directly use the equipment of the auto factory to manufacture some parts of the ventilator. The ventilator is an important device to save severe cases. Therefore, the increase in ventilator production brought by the conversion of automobile factories is expected to save more lives.

In the UK, some aerospace equipment manufacturers and car manufacturers have set up three teams to produce ventilators. Participating companies include Meggitt, which produces oxygen systems for civil aviation and fighter aircraft, and automaker McLaren.

European aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus is also considering the use of technologies such as 3D printing to rapidly produce medical supplies, and sources have said its goal is to build a ventilator prototype in two weeks and put it into production within four weeks.

In the United States, two major automakers, GM and Ford, are also considering how to assist in the production of medical devices. According to media reports, GM CEO Mary Barra has discussed the matter with relevant White House sources, and Ford Motor Chief Executive Jim Hackett also said at a meeting that he was exploring the feasibility of producing ventilators.

However, some people in the manufacturing industry have said that it is not so simple to produce medical products "cross-border". For example, the extent to which ventilator manufacturers are willing to share their design drawings and other resources may limit the ability of automakers to transform their production. Another bottleneck is that the production environment of traditional automobile plants may need to be modified to meet medical standards.