First manufacturer-made ventilators to be ready this weekend

Vehicle manufacturers Ford, McLaren and Mercedes are amongst some of the biggest names in British manufacturing that have answered a call from the government to produce ventilators to to save lives throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

British manufacturers have formed the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium to make the ventilators. The first batch of the Penlon ventilator device, which has been rapidly adapted from other existing ventilator designs, will be ready for dispatch, following approval from the MHRA that it meets the necessary safety requirements.

An initial delivery will be ready this weekend, with potentially hundreds more of that device to follow, alongside thousands more of other new devices in the coming weeks.

Other existing ventilator devices are also being scaled up, in collaboration with British and international industry, including products from Diamedica, Breas Medical and Smiths Group.

A number of other British manufacturers have also started urgent production of new ventilators, designed from scratch, following efforts from the industry and Government to rapidly increase numbers available to the NHS.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "We are doing everything we can to support our NHS staff fighting this battle on the frontline, and it’s crucial we get even more ventilators there as soon as possible.

"We have seen a fantastic response from businesses to our call for a national effort - and I’m delighted these companies accepted the challenge to save lives across the country.

"The Government has provided a number of letters of intent to purchase potentially thousands more ventilators with companies who have credible designs, subject to them passing the regulator and strict safety tests."

The Ventilator ChallengeUK includes the following companies and groups:
    •    Airbus
    •    BAE Systems
    •    Ford Motor Company
    •    GKN Aerospace
    •    High Value Manufacturing Catapult
    •    Inspiration Healthcare Group
    •    Meggitt
    •    Penlon
    •    Renishaw
    •    Rolls-Royce
    •    Siemens Healthineers and Siemens UK
    •    Smiths Group
    •    Thales
    •    Ultra Electronics
    •    Unilever
    •    UK-based F1 teams: Haas F1,
    •    McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing,
    •    Racing Point, Renault Sport Racing,
    •    Williams
    •    Accenture
    •    Arrow Electronics
    •    Dell Technologies
    •    Microsoft
    •    PTC