Ford SA uses downtime to make face shields against Covid-19

Ford has begun production of protective face shields at its Silverton plant for donation to medical and essential personnel battling Covid-19.

Over 57,000 material kits have already been ordered and production capacity is being ramped up while Ford supplier companies have also been approached to help fund a minimum of 500,000 face shields.

The face shields protect the user’s eyes, nose and mouth from the coronavirus which is easily spread through coughing and sneezing. They are being produced by employees who volunteered their time.

This SA initiative complements the efforts of Ford US to produce face shields, and partnering with health care departments to manufacture ventilators at its Michigan plants.

“The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented, and is having a dramatic impact on the health of communities around the world while placing a massive strain on the medical resources of even the most advanced countries,” states Ockert Berry, VP operations at Ford SA.

 “With SA on lockdown and our plants not operating at the moment, we felt that it was essential for us to use our manufacturing capacity and expertise to contribute to the efforts of the SA government, private health care institutions and humanitarian organisations to contain the spread of Covid-19, and to care for those infected with the virus,” continued Berry.

The World Health Organisation and the SA department of health have deemed these face shields, along with the N95 face masks which can be worn under the shield, a crucial part of personal protective equipment for medical personnel who are at the greatest risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

They will also be made available to the police, military and those responsible for transporting workers in the essential services industries.

Minister of trade, industry and competition Ebrahim Patel commended Ford for its contribution. “Thank you for your offer to donate face shields which can be used in counteracting the spread of Covid-19. It is encouraging to see the efforts of Ford Motor Company not only here in SA, but globally as well.”

The public and businesses across SA are invited to support this initiative to help address the critical shortage of personal protection equipment

“We welcome any contributions from individuals and companies across SA to support this initiative, whether it’s R10, R10,000 or R100,000, every little bit counts,” Berry says.

All contributions will exclusively be used to purchase the kits for the face shields. Ford is covering all the labour costs for assembly and packaging, and supplier companies are assisting with materials, boxes and other packaging materials, as well as transport.

Individuals and companies wishing to contribute to this initiative can send an e-mail to socialme@ford.com, using the reference: Ford SA COVID-19. The relevant banking details will be supplied.