General Motors has officially handed over operational control of its facility in Kokomo, Indiana, to Ventec Life Systems, per a recent report from Automotive News.
Back in August, General Motors announced that it would lease its Kokomo electronics facility to Ventec once its government contract to build the life-saving respiratory ventilators had been fulfilled. Ventec would then take over ventilator production. The automaker entered into a $490 million federal contract in April to produce 30,000 units of the Ventec V+ Pro ventilators, with the Kokomo facility serving as the production location.
General Motors converted its Kokomo facility to ventilator production late last March, with the conversion assisted by local UAW workers. The first ventilators were shipped to Chicago-area hospitals in April.
“Until there is a vaccine, critical care ventilators give medical professionals the tools they need to fight this pandemic and save lives,” said Ventec Life Systems CEO Chris Kiple in a statement last April. “This partnership is a historic effort and a great reminder of what can be accomplished with the power of American innovation and American manufacturing skill uniting together around a singular mission to save lives.”
With those 30,000 ventilators now delivered, General Motors is handing over operational control to Ventec.
“The entire GM team stepped up and contributed for the greater good, but clearly our focus needs to be on automotive-related manufacturing,” said GM spokesman Dan Flores in a statement last month. “We’re going to step back and they’re going to assume responsibility once the contract is filled.”
It was previously reported that General Motors will donate two million face masks to Detroit area public schools, efforts that coincide with the automaker’s previous mask contributions made to public institutions throughout Michigan. General Motors has donated more than 6 million medical-grade masks in the state thus far. GM began face mask production at a former transmission plant in Warren, Michigan back in March, with over 10 million face masks produced there thus far.
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Comments
Good job on this GM. It’s awe inspiring to see what this country can still do in times of trouble and I’ve always been humbled by the lengths America will go to to save a single life. GM, and so many other companies stepped up and did their part and, while lives have been lost, none, as far as I know, were lost because of a shortage of ventilators or other critical care supplies.
This episode has also served to illustrate that while we live in a global economy, local production and the capacity to meet our own national needs is critical. Where would we be without the many US companies, like GM, that still have to ability to turn an auto parts factory into a place to rapidly produce life saving equipment.
Everywhere I go, I see “Thank You” signs on lawns for healthcare workers. Well, thank you too to the folks at GM’s Kokomo plant who gave those workers their crucial equipment. I know they worked long hours too in stressful conditions and no doubt, it made a difference for countless people.
Well done GM, well done!