The medical device association AdvaMed launched a new online platform to put ventilator manufacturers in touch with potential suppliers of much-needed components, as more companies across a variety of industries pivot their resources toward the novel coronavirus pandemic—including those from the aerospace and defense sectors.
The VentConnect portal was developed with the Aerospace Industries Association, along with Google and other industry alliances and partners.
The AIA represents more than 300 members, including the aircraft manufacturers Boeing, Airbus and Embraer, and the weapons makers Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics, as well as companies already at the center of the COVID-19 effort, such as 3M.
More than 50 additional companies have signed on as potential suppliers, according to AdvaMed, such as the tool manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker, and tech component producer Arrow Electronics.
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“Our companies have added shifts, started new production lines, and hired new workers so that soon our capacity will be tenfold what it was before the pandemic,” AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker said in a statement.
“But to keep producing these life-saving devices, our member companies need a steady stream of key components from beyond the normal supply chain, and that’s where this new online platform developed with the AIA and Google will be of tremendous value,” Whitaker said.
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Manufacturers of ventilators can post spreadsheets listing the parts and components they need, while suppliers can submit applications detailing their production capacity and materials on hand. Then the two can choose to pursue an agreement.