Skip to main content

Fiat Chrysler swaps cars for masks in huge production effort

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is swapping cars for face masks at one of its factories as part of efforts to help frontline medical professionals in North America during the coronavirus outbreak.

Recommended Videos

Officially known as COVID-19, the virus is continuing to spread in the United States, putting growing pressure on hospitals and other healthcare facilities throughout the country.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Keen to do its bit in the fight against the virus, FCA is now adding production capacity for protective face masks at one of its factories in Asia. It plans to produce around a million of the masks per month, beginning in the coming weeks. Initial supplies will go to healthcare staff and other key workers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

As the virus can spread through tiny droplets of infected saliva, the masks are a vital piece of equipment for those dealing with COVID-19 cases. And with so many patients to handle, it’s important that the masks and other protective equipment be changed regularly.

FCA said it’s able to exploit its manufacturing, supply chain, and engineering expertise as part of broader efforts to quell the virus.

“Protecting our first responders and health care workers has never been more important,” FCA CEO Mike Manley said in a release this week. “We canvassed our contacts across the healthcare industry and it was very clear that there is an urgent and critical need for face masks. We’ve marshaled the resources of the FCA Group to focus immediately on installing production capacity for making masks and supporting those most in need on the front line of this pandemic.”

Last week it emerged that Fiat Chrysler is also in talks with Italy’s biggest ventilator manufacturer with a view to boosting production of the life-saving machine. Ferrari is also working on the same initiative.

Along with numerous other businesses, many of FCA’s factories around the world have been temporarily shuttered by government and state lockdown orders as part of efforts to keep people apart and slow the spread of the virus. But adapting some of its facilities to produce vital medical equipment makes perfect sense in the current circumstances.

The pandemic has placed an unprecedented demand on face masks, as well as other protective equipment, prompting tech firms such as Apple and Facebook to manufacture and donate millions of masks for healthcare workers in the U.S. and Europe. Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly sent a supply of masks, gowns, and other medical equipment to a number of UCLA Health hospitals in Los Angeles. Musk’s electric-car company is also planning to build ventilators for American medical facilities, with similar initiatives recently launched by General Motors, Ford, and gaming hardware company Razer, among others.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Masks are now mandatory in Virginia — here’s where to buy them for less than $1
Man wearing a face mask

Although the rate of infection seems to be slowing down in many parts of the U.S., the coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing public health crisis continues to grip the country. Lockdowns and social distancing protocols have been employed to slow the spread since the beginning of the outbreak, and shortly after, numerous businesses and localities started to make the wearing of face masks mandatory. On Tuesday, May 26, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam joined that number when he declared that the state's Department of Health will now be requiring all residents over the age of 10 will be required to wear face masks in public. If you still need some cheap surgical masks for yourself and/or your loved ones but cannot find them locally, then Well Before (formerly Honest PPE Supply) has them for less than $1 apiece.

Surgical masks are a common sight in many places around the world, particularly in Asia, and despite initial assumptions that masks were ineffective, it did not take long for western countries like the U.S. to do an about-face on the subject. Unfortunately, this caused a rush on masks from both online and brick-and-mortar retailers which caused stock shortages, price gouging, and even scams. Texas-based company Well Before seeks to remedy this by offering high-quality, Food and Drug Administration registered disposable masks to the public for cheap.

Read more
Post lockdown, smart cameras could help enforce mask use and social distancing
nice alliance pandemic security cameras allaince camera 2

As COVID-19 lockdowns begin to lift, life in public spaces will look a little different. Masks and maintaining six feet of distance could become the new normal. And a little camera in the corner could trigger an alert if you don’t wear a mask or step too close.

Working with Microsoft, the Network of Intelligent Camera Ecosystem (NICE) Alliance is developing a system that could allow any connected camera to become a smart camera capable of detecting a lack of social distancing, unmasked individuals, or even fevers. The cameras could send a text alert to business owners when a location is too crowded or social distancing rules are violated, or even trigger a warning in public spaces, such as a warning light.

Read more
Razer to use vending machines to distribute millions of free face masks
Razer vending machine selling masks

We heard just a few weeks ago how gaming hardware maker Razer was repurposing some of its manufacturing facilities to help produce much-needed face masks for front-line health-care workers.

Now it’s set to use vending machines to help get free masks to the adult residents of Singapore, the city-state from which Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan hails.

Read more