TheymetwithNovantHealth,whichserves
medicalfacilitiesinNorthCarolina,South
CarolinaandVirginia.
Nowtheprintersarerunning 18 hoursa
daywithapproximatelyeightengineers
volunteeringtheirtimetooverseeproduction
fromapproximately7 a.m.untilmidnightevery
day.Thenewestprinter,aboutthesizeofan
outdoorshed,canprintthreefaceshieldsevery
2½hours.
“That’stheonewetrytokeeprunning
almostnonstop,”EricJacuzzi,seniordirector
ofNASCAR’saerodynamicsandvehicle
performance,toldTheAssociatedPress.“We
havepeoplethatareactuallyhavingtheir
teenagechildrenhelpwithcuttingtheclear
facialpartaspartoftheirvolunteerworkat
home,sixofusrunningthemachines,andmore
peoplereachingouttohelp.”
NASCARis donatingthefaceshieldsaspartof
thecharitablecommunityactstheseriesdoes
everyyear.Thesanctioningbodyhasfollowed
Ford,ChevroletandToyota—NASCAR’s
threemanufacturers—ascompaniesfrom
theautomotiveindustrythathavepivoted
productiontoPPEduringtheglobalcrisis.
FordthisweeksaidbeginninginAprilit will
workwithGEHealthcaretobuildair-pressured
ventilators,witha targetofmanufacturing
50,000unitsinthenext 100 daysfroma
Michigancomponentsplant.Fordis also
providingengineersandfacilitiestoassist3M’s
productionorair-purifyingrespirators.
GeneralMotorspartneredwithVentecLife
Systemstobuildventilatorsandhasvowedto
producemorethan50,000facemasksperday.
Image: Charlotte Smith