Ford Retools to Take On COVID-19

Ford Motor Co. is taking parts from it’s vehicles and refashioning them into medical devices to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several carmakers have recently announced efforts to help supply medical equipment. 

Earlier this week Ford announced it would join with 3M and GE Healthcare to help produce new respirators for health care workers.

Ford Vice President Jim Baumbick says the automaker’s employees wanted to do something to help in the current health crisis.

“You think back to the Arsenal of Democracy, and we made planes,” says Baumbick. “What could we do to actually help them to scale-up to meet the growing need for key equipment?”

He says Ford is using parts from ventilated truck seats and batteries from power tools to help create the respirators for health care workers.

Click on the player above to listed to Ford’s Jim Baumbick on how the carmaker is joining the fight against COVID-19.

Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.