In response to the exploding demand created from the Covid-19 pandemic, Dutch company Philips (Amsterdam; www.philips.com) has increased production of urgently needed medical technology products for intensive care. The manufacturing of 1,000 ventilators per week by March 2020 – initially set up to supply additional ventilators to hospitals in the most affected regions in China, Southern Europe and the US – is to be doubled by the end of May and increased fourfold by the third quarter of 2020 compared to the March figures.

To this end, new lines were set up at its three assembly sites, all located in the US – in Murrysville and New Kensington, both in Pennsylvania, and Carlsbad, California – and production was changed to a three-shift system. For the expansions, Philips said it is investing “several tens of millions” in tools and moulds, final assembly lines and test facilities.

In line with the appeal of the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the group had also called on governments around the world to facilitate access to critical materials and components by removing restrictions such as export controls and customs duties. A company representative told Plasteurope.com that each hospital ventilator consists of more than 650 components, which have to be purchased from suppliers in Asia, Europe and the US. Philips noted this is the rate-limiting step, since it requires support from all the countries involved.

In addition to ventilators, the company’s medical division produces diagnostic imaging systems (CT, mobile diagnostic X-rays and ultrasound equipment) and clinical telemedicine solutions for the central monitoring and management of patients in intensive care units. The representative did not want to say what share this division had in the total sales of EUR 19.5 bn in 2019. The only statement was that Philips is the second-largest manufacturer of ventilation equipment worldwide.