Volkswagen plant in Zwickau
Düsseldorf The Volkswagen group prepares according to Handelsblatt information to produce parts for medical devices because of the corona crisis. The main focus is on components for ventilators. “Volkswagen is ready to help,” confirmed a company spokesman on Friday. It is not just about a possible parts production in Germany, but also at several of the Group’s international locations. Volkswagen was asked by various states to help with the production of medical devices.
According to the group, a task force has already been set up at Volkswagen, “that it is working intensively on this topic”. Employees are already busy testing materials for use in a larger production. Volkswagen is also already looking into finding ways to procure the required material.
At the center of activities at Volkswagen is the plastics technology area. There are 150 modern 3D printers in the global group, which could be used to produce plastic parts for respirators, for example. Possible parts would be tubes or face masks. “We cannot print complete ventilators,” said the company spokesman.
According to Volkswagen, the first test parts have already been printed. There is close cooperation with government agencies and medical institutions. For example, the subsidiary works in the Czech Republic Skoda with a local university to prepare the production of plastic parts for medical devices.
“Of course, medical equipment is new for us,” said the company spokesman. But as soon as the car manufacturer knows the technical requirements and has also received the software from manufacturers of medical devices, Volkswagen can start manufacturing the components. Auto manufacturers in the United States and the United Kingdom were also asked if they could help with the production of medical devices.
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