PARIS — PSA Group and Valeo are contributing volunteer workers, factory space and technical expertise to help France ramp up domestic production of ventilators to help coronavirus victims.
The effort, which will be led by ventilator maker Air Liquide Medical Systems, seeks to produce 10,000 units by the middle of May.
PSA said it would build mechanical components of the ventilators in its factory in Poissy, west of Paris. Final assembly of the units will be in Air Liquide’s nearby factory in Antony.
About 100 volunteers will be involved in the effort, comprising 50 at the Poissy factory and 50 at the automaker's technology center in Velizy.
Valeo will contribute to the effort by placing some of the company’s buyers in charge of supplier management and the procurement process. It will provide R&D support, and expertise in plastics and mechanical and electronic technologies. Valeo production engineers will help set up processes and training.
The other main industrial partner in the French effort will be Schneider Electric. About 100 other companies have been enlisted to provide parts and technical support.
Other carmakers and suppliers in China, Europe and the US have announced plans to build medical equipment and face masks. Among them are BYD, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, GM, McLaren, Tesla and Volkswagen.
Lamborghini said Tuesday that it would start making face shields and face masks at its plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.
Masks shortage
President Emmanuel Macron had asked companies last week to study the possibility of quickly increasing production of ventilators.
Macron said on Tuesday that France plans to quickly ramp up domestic production of face masks and respirators to respond to urgent needs of hospitals and caregivers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Consumption of face masks in France had soared to more than 40 million a week from four million and the state's pre-crisis inventory of 140 million masks was insufficient, he said.
"Before, we believed that we could import masks quickly and in great quantity from the other side of the world and that we did not need to store billions and billions of face masks," Macron said during a visit to the Kolmi-Hopen face mask factory near Angers, western France.
He said the world has changed and that there is now unprecedented tension on global markets and that France needed to boost domestic production to become self-sufficient.
France has ordered more than one billion face masks from China and the first orders are already arriving, Macron said.
France's four face mask factories will also boost their combined output to 10 million per week by end April from 3.3 million per week before the start of the crisis.
In addition, in three to four weeks the country will also be able to produce a million masks per day for people in other professions than the medical sector, Macron said.
France has also boosted its production of disinfecting hand gel from 40,000 liters per day to 500,000 liters per day.
The French government will fund the purchase of masks and ventilators with a 4 billion euro ($4.4 billion) boost to the state health budget.
Reuters contributed to this report
