In the UK, a consortium including Ford, Rolls-Royce, plane manufacturer Airbus and the Formula 1 racing teams are manufacturing ventilators for the National Health Service. The group, called VentilatorChallengeUK, has received an order for 10,000 machines based on an existing design by UK company Smiths Group. In the US, Ford, General Motors and Tesla have already built and sent out face shields for hospital staff while Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has vowed to deliver one million masks. In Spain, SEAT is making ventilators using adapted windscreen wiper motors (pictured).
Dyson, famous for its bagless vacuum cleaners, has designed a new type of ventilator called the "CoVent" in partnership with medical research company The Technology Company in just 10 days. If the device passes safety checks then Dyson will use old World War II aircraft hangers in Wiltshire in England to scale up its manufacturing process to meet an order of 10,000 ventilators from the UK government.
In China, General Motors' venture SAIC-GM-Wuling switched to producing face masks, with 14 production lines able to churn out 1.4 millon masks a day. Announcing newly-designed machines at one of its plants in Liuzhou, southwest China, the company is making masks similar to the N95 mask. Medics and frontline staff use the N95 mask, which blocks 95% of particles of 0.3 microns and above. The carmaker is also upgrading its vehicle air filtration systems to protect passengers.
H&M, the world's second biggest fashion retailer, has promised to produce protective face masks for medical staff working in Europe. Of the first 100,000 face masks completed on 2 April, half were sent to Spain and half to Italy. According to a statement from the company, it has offered its help to the EU and is trying to work out how to use its supply chains to meet the most urgent needs.
Inditex, the parent company of fast-fashion retailer Zara, is converting its factory space into production lines to manufacture face masks and hospital gowns. The Spanish-based company claims to be in the process of distributing some two million masks across Spain, which at the time of writing has more cases of COVID-19 than any other European country.
American fashion house Ralph Lauren has switched from luxury clothing to medical garments, announcing on 26 March that it would shift its production lines to making 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns for use in the US. Kering, the company which owns luxury brands Gucci and Prada, has committed to producing three million masks to help plug shortages.
Best known for its ultra-warm winter jackets, Canadian clothing company Canada Goose has retooled its production lines to start making scrubs and patient gowns. Some 10,000 units will be manufactured at two factories in Toronto and Winnipeg, with the company stating it will extend production to other factories if needed.
Parkdale Inc., a large yarn spinner based in Gastonia, North Carolina has switched to producing medical masks for hospitals. Partnering with clothing brands including Hanesbrands, Fruit of the Loom, American Giant and Los Angeles Apparel, it’s creating new supply chains with the hope of producing up to 10 million face masks a week across the US and Central America.
BrewDog, the irreverant Scottish craft brewer founded in 2007, has created its very own 'Punk' hand sanitizer. The company has transformed its Aberdeen distillery into a production line for the vital product and has donated more than 100,000 bottles to the UK's NHS and local charities, according to the latest figures from its website.
The world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch, which produces Budweiser among other famous beer brands, is producing 8.5oz (250ml) hand sanitizer bottles. The company says it will be working with the Red Cross to distribute the product to hospitals and pharmacies, emphaszing that hand sanitizer would be made in addition to, not instead of, beer. Absolut, Barcadi and other alcoholic drinks manufacturers are also turning production to hand sanitization products.
Luxury goods group LVMH, which owns fashion house Louis Vuitton, has swapped perfume for hand sanitizer in three factories in a bid to beat shortages in France. After pledging to manufacture hand sanitizer on Saturday 14 March, by the following Monday the company was already rolling its first bottles off production lines and delivering them to French health authorities.
The British Honey Company, a distillery based in Buckinghamshire, England will be producing hand sanitizer to make up for national shortages. The company, which usually makes vodka and gin from honey, was recently given the go-ahead by tax authorities to use its spare capacity to make sanitizer. Its formula will consist of 70% alcohol (health authorities recommend alcohol concentrations of at least 60%) along with green tea and honey extracts.
Cosmetics giant L'Oréal is also producing hand sanitizer to help fight coronavirus. In a Facebook post, the company said it will use its manufacturing facilities to make “hundreds of tons” of hand sanitizer which will be delivered to hospitals, pharmacies, care homes and food stores.
Beiersdorf, the German company which makes Nivea and other skincare brands, is changing its production lines to produce medical-grade disinfectants. It will use three production plants, one in Spain and two in Germany, to manufacture 500 metric tons of disinfectant to be distributed to hospitals, clinics and public services. According to a Beiersdorf spokesperson, the manufacturing is taking place on dedicated production lines and will not affect ordinary production.
SmileDirectClub, a tele-dentistry company based in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the largest 3D printing manufacturers in the US. The company has put this technology to good use during the pandemic, partnering with medical supply companies and health organizations to produce oxygen valves for ventilators, as well as medical masks.
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn usually makes iPhones, but lately it’s started rolling protective masks off its production lines instead. In an announcement it said it would be producing two million a day. At the beginning of March, electronics company Sharp, which is owned by Foxconn, announced it would begin producing up to 50,000 face masks a day at its factory in Japan.
At the end of March, British coin manufacturer The Royal Mint begun making medical visors at its factory in Llantrisant, Wales. Following the successful development of a prototype, the first batch of visors are already being used by staff at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in South Wales, BusinessLive has reported. Production lines are working 24/7 to meet targets of producing 4,000 visors per day.
Coronavirus has hit the hospitality industry hard, yet that hasn’t stopped some companies from putting their efforts into fighting the crisis. French firm Accor Hospitality Group, the largest hospitality company in Europe with more than 4,800 hotels worldwide, has created an online platform called CEDA to help provide beds for homeless people. Partnering with French authorities, it will be offering up to 2,000 beds in 40 hotels across the country.
The four-star Ayre Gran Hotel Colón in Madrid, Spain has been converted into a hospital to for COVID-19 patients. The hotel was renovated in 2010 and features a 13,00-square-foot (1,200-square-meter) garden and an art gallery. In the Madrid region alone, at least 40 hotels have offered access to authorities, which will provide an additional 9,000 beds for potential patients.
The world-famous Four Seasons Hotel chain is also offering free rooms for medical workers in its Manhattan hotel, in a bid to protect their families and curb the spread of COVID-19. In a statement, hotel owner Ty Warner said: “Many of those working in New York City have to travel long distances to and from their homes after putting in 18-hour days. They need a place close to work where they can rest and regenerate."
Amusement park fans might be surprised to learn that Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, England has been turned into a COVID-19 drive-through testing center for NHS staff. The emergency facility is only open to NHS workers who have received a referral, and testing is carried out by nurses who take nose and mouth swabs, which are then tested within 72 hours.
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Furniture giant IKEA has also given away space at one of its stores in Wembley, England to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. The space is also being used as a drive-through testing center for frontline NHS staff, which opened on 30 March. A spokesperson said, “We are incredibly proud that we are able to support the government and the NHS in this small way, and are working with them to identify any additional sites that could also support the national effort.”
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McDonald's may not be able to retool its production lines, but in Germany it has begun ‘leasing’ its employees to Aldi, which is struggling to cope with demand. In the unusual partnership, McDonald’s employees who are at home due to the closure of branches can take on temporary employment at Aldi if they wish, as well as being able to resume employment at McDonald’s when restaurants reopen.
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