[82lsju]

In 2019 ventilator-makers had the capacity to churn out just 40,000 units suitable for intensive care, according to Getinge, a Swedish firm which makes one in four such machines sold worldwide. Most companies build kit, which costs anywhere between $10,000 and $60,000 apiece, to order rather than keep inventories. Premier, a firm that bought 2,000 last year on behalf of 40% of America’s hospitals, says that buyers must now wait 8-12 weeks for new ones to arrive, not a fortnight as in normal times. Getinge’s order book is completely filled until June.

All manufacturers are ramping up production. Getinge plans to make 16,000 units this year, 60% more than in 2019. Most of its rivals hope to increase output by a similar amount. Italy’s army has sent 25 technical staff to Siare, its only domestic producer, to try to quadruple production, to 500 units a month. Mr Johnson’s government sent 60 large manufacturers a blueprint of a ventilator along with links to a YouTube video and an academic paper describing a device that could be deployed rapidly. OneBreath, a startup in California, is hoping regulators will fast-track approval of its $4,000 design that could be ready to produce in less than a year.
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Even if specialist firms add production lines to their factories, and non-specialists reconfigure theirs, one other constraint remains. Most components come from China, where virus-related stoppages reduced production of industrial equipment by 28% in January and February, year on year. China is beginning to rev up its industrial engine as new infections slow. But it will be a while before its factories are fully back in business. By the time they are, drastic measures that governments around the world are taking to slow the virus’s spread may leave ventilator-makers themselves with less breathing room to function

https://www.economist.com/business/2020/...rsbusiness

[82lsju]

In 2019 ventilator-makers had the capacity to churn out just 40,000 units suitable for intensive care, according to Getinge, a Swedish firm which makes one in four such machines sold worldwide. Most companies build kit, which costs anywhere between $10,000 and $60,000 apiece, to order rather than keep inventories. Premier, a firm that bought 2,000 last year on behalf of 40% of America’s hospitals, says that buyers must now wait 8-12 weeks for new ones to arrive, not a fortnight as in normal times. Getinge’s order book is completely filled until June.

All manufacturers are ramping up production. Getinge plans to make 16,000 units this year, 60% more than in 2019. Most of its rivals hope to increase output by a similar amount. Italy’s army has sent 25 technical staff to Siare, its only domestic producer, to try to quadruple production, to 500 units a month. Mr Johnson’s government sent 60 large manufacturers a blueprint of a ventilator along with links to a YouTube video and an academic paper describing a device that could be deployed rapidly. OneBreath, a startup in California, is hoping regulators will fast-track approval of its $4,000 design that could be ready to produce in less than a year.
...
Even if specialist firms add production lines to their factories, and non-specialists reconfigure theirs, one other constraint remains. Most components come from China, where virus-related stoppages reduced production of industrial equipment by 28% in January and February, year on year. China is beginning to rev up its industrial engine as new infections slow. But it will be a while before its factories are fully back in business. By the time they are, drastic measures that governments around the world are taking to slow the virus’s spread may leave ventilator-makers themselves with less breathing room to function

https://www.economist.com/business/2020/...rsbusiness