Spirit AeroSystems partners with top medical supplier to make ventilators to fight COVID-19
Spirit AeroSystems has partnered with one of the country’s top medical suppliers to manufacture ventilators used to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients.
In a “temporary special partnership,” Spirit, a commercial and defense aviation manufacturer, with help Vyaire Medical, based in California, produce tens of thousands of LTV2 2200 ventilators. Vyaire was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to produce 22,000 ventilators for the Strategic National Stockpile and also is filling requests from states and private hospitals and healthcare systems.
The Eagle first reported last month that furloughed Spirit workers were being flown to California, where Vyaire is located, to receive training on manufacturing medical devices.
“The manufacturing and supply collaboration will help to balance the needs of clinicians urgently treating patients at the bedside with the commitment to fill or replenish strategic stockpiles,” a news release announcing the partnership says.
The partnership will keep around 700 Spirit Wichita workers employed in the short term.
“Design of the production system is underway, and teams are readying the facilities with production materials, critical equipment and building infrastructure to stand up manufacturing lines. Training of staff is proceeding and approximately 700 Spirit employees will be assigned to this special project as production ramps up,” a Spirit news release about the partnership says.
Spirit, one of the largest suppliers for Boeing, has been hit hard by the Boeing 737 Max crisis and a severe downturn in the airlines industry due to the coronavirus. Thousands of workers in Wichita have been laid off and furloughed as the company slows production, including 1,450 announced Friday.
In January, Spirit announced it was laying off 2,800 workers in Wichita, more than 20% of its workforce due to uncertainty surrounding the future of the Boeing 737 Max. The once-best-selling plane has been grounded worldwide for more than a year after two crashes killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
Airlines and other customers have canceled and moved back orders on the Boeing plane for months since the crashes. Spirit makes about 70% of the 737 Max and planned to slowly begin producing the planes again this spring.
In the meantime, following calls by the local Machinists Union, Spirit also has been collaborating with other aviation companies, Wichita State University and Ascension Via Christi Health System to produce personal protective equipment to fight COVID-19, including thousands of face shields.
Spirit hinted at its partnership with Vyaire in its Friday layoff announcement. The announcement said the partnership is expected to last through October and may go longer, depending on demand.
“This collaboration is an opportunity for Spirit to help at a time when our nation needs it most,” said Tom Gentile, president and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, in a statement Monday. “We are honored to bring our industrial capabilities and skilled workforce to help Vyaire scale up quickly to produce much-needed ventilators during this pandemic.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 1:54 PM.