April 3, 2020
By Jessica Snouwaert
Volkswagen is collaborating with its fabric supplier, Faurecia, to start producing personal protective equipment for medical providers, the companies announced Friday.
Volkswagen worked with Faurecia to make changes to its Mexico-based manufacturing plant so it could produce masks and gowns and said it will have the capacity to make about 250,000 masks and 50,000 gowns per week.
The Volkswagen supplier's pivot in production comes at a time when coronavirus risks sending the US health care system past its breaking point as hospitals and medical centers are already experiencing shortages of protective equipment including mask and gowns.
During a news conference Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo emphasized that it is within the realm of possibility for companies to manufacture simple garments like masks and gowns.
"Volkswagen is proud to have partners like Faurecia willing to step outside their usual scope and drive something bigger," Scott Keogh, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America said in a press release. "This joint effort is putting the ingenuity of VW and our supplier network on full display, and we don't plan on stopping our response to this crisis here."
Volkswagen donated the first shipment of the Faurecia-produced masks and gowns to New York State as it battles the coronavirus with over 100,000 cases, the highest number of any state in the country, according to Microsoft's COVID-19 tracker.
The delivery includes 70,000 masks and 5,000 gowns that will be distributed to hospitals in New York, including New York City's Javits Center. The supply is expected to arrive this week.
The Javits Center was recently transformed by the US Army Corps of Engineers into a temporary hospital staffed by FEMA and Army medical personnel, the release said.
Now, the Javits Center will also receive COVID-19 patients, according to Cuomo, who said he requested the federal government convert the facility to receive COVID-19 patients.
The transition of the Javits center to receive COVID-19 patients now opens 2,500 beds in New York City, according to a tweet from Cuomo.