Ontario auto parts makers team up to build ventilators
Three of Canada’s largest auto parts manufacturers, the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association and the province of Ontario have agreed to focus much of their ventilator building efforts on three projects.
Auto parts manufacturers have been working with government officials to see how they can help build medical equipment such as ventilators, necessary to treat COVID -19 but in limited supply in countries grappling with a spike in hospitalizations.
Magna International Inc., Linamar Corp. and Martinrea International Inc., along with the APMA, reached the agreement with the province after meeting earlier this week, Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst confirmed in an email.
The three projects include ventilators built by Toronto-based Thornhill Medical, Brampton, Ont.-based O-Two Medical Technologies Inc. and General Motors Co. and Ventec Life Systems, which partnered to build ventilators at the GM plant in Indiana.
Magna is supporting the initiative with some components, logistics and purchasing, Fuerst said.
APMA president Flavio Volpe praised the government for its efforts.
“There has been an unprecedented mobilization by government that is going to save lives. We are singularly focused on equipping the people who will do that promptly and confidently,” Volpe said in an email.
Thornhill was one of the medical equipment makers singled out by the federal government last week as part of its plan to make ventilators in Canada to ensure there’s enough supply. Its high-tech, portable ventilators were originally designed for military use.
O-Two also makes portable, transportable ventilators. It will be building the E700 model, a lightweight ventilator with long battery life that provides ICU level care, according to its website.
In a joint statement on Friday, GM and Ventec said they’re “working around the clock” to set up GM’s Kokomo facility to build critical care ventilators.
Almost 140,000 Canadians have now been tested for COVID-19, according to Dr. Howard Njoo, the country’s deputy chief public health officer. Some labs have reported a testing backlog due to diminishing supplies of essential chemicals.
Growing demand on health services prompted Ontario’s nurses to call for more medical equipment to deal with COVID -19.
“Health organizations, across all sectors, are reporting shortages of personal protective equipment,” the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said in a statement.
“The available ventilators, required to save lives during the pandemic — including the 300 additional ones Ontario has ordered — vastly underestimate the real need under a worst-case scenario.” Financial Post
With a file from
The Canadian Press ejackson@nationalpost.com