JCB turns to making ventilators and visors

As the saying goes: “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” and heavy equipment expert, JCB did just that.

In mid-March, JCB had to suspend production at its nine UK production plants as a result of the coronavirus crisis and furloughed the vast majority of its 6500 workforce. The company cited a significant drop in global demand for machinery as the main reason for the suspension.

However, instead of sitting around and grieving its losses, the company recently announced its commitment to helping the UK Government manufacture ventilator housings to address the ventilator shortage issue the country is currently facing.

JCB received a direct appeal from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier in March to help plug the national ventilator shortage and to help save lives of coronavirus patients. Following the approach, JCB Chairman, Lord Anthony Bamford, promised to help in any way the company could and immediately mobilised a research and engineering team to examine potential ways to assist.

As a result, JCB is ready to restart production at its Uttoxeter, Staffordshire facility which has been set up specifically to build cabs for JCB diggers. But instead of making cabs, the plant is being mobilised to make special steel housings for a brand new design of ventilator from Dyson.

A minimum of 10,000 of the JCB housings are earmarked for manufacture once Dyson receives regulatory approval for its design.

“When we were approached by the Prime Minister we were determined, as a British company, to help in any way we could,” said JCB Chairman, Lord Anthony Bamford.

“This project has gone from design to production in just a matter of days and I am delighted that we have been able to deploy the skills of our talented engineering, design and fabrication teams so quickly at a time of national crisis.

“This is also a global crisis, of course, and we will naturally help with the production of more housings if these ventilators are eventually required by other countries.”

JCB’s response to the national call to action would see the return to work for around 50 employees, the company said.

JCB and a team of volunteer employees have also come together to aid the UK’s NHS staff in need of personal protective equipment.

JCB Principal Electronics Engineer James Morley – who is normally based at JCB’s World HQ in Rocester - has converted the garage at his Derbyshire home to produce vital supplies.

Inspired by his efforts, JCB has re-opened its Innovation Centre at the World HQ so Morley's colleagues - tooling and moulding engineers, Joe Mumby and Joe Bagley, can have free use of the company’s 3D rapid prototype machines to help produce medical grade visors for NHS staff.

3D printers take Computer Aided Design data and build it into a 3D object using very fine layers of melted plastic. The plastic is heated up to around 210°C and then extruded on to a flat metal plate, that is also heated up to around 60°C. Over the next few hours, the printer will finish the object before it is simply peeled off the flat plate and used.

For Mumby, of Hilton, Derbyshire, volunteering to produce the vital NHS kit is of utmost significance as he and his family come to terms with the death of his father’s cousin from coronavirus recently.

“Helping with the production of visors is the least I could do as this is a very testing time for everyone, including my own family,” he said.

“It’s fantastic that JCB has given us the opportunity to give something back to those who are the front line of the virus in what must be a very scary time for them.”

So far, the volunteer production line set up at JCB has produced 50 visors for distribution to surgeries in the Rocester and Uttoxeter area with the help of material donated by the JCB Academy.

With the visor material now exhausted, Mumby and Bagley are concentrating their efforts on producing hundreds of head bands required for the visors before despatching them to a Warwickshire company for final assembly.

Meanwhile, Morley has transformed his rapid prototyping machine in the garage of his home from making toys for his two children to producing NHS kit.

Having made 20 visors, he is now diversifying his domestic production line to make components, which convert snorkelling masks for use with hospital ventilators. He is also rapid prototyping so-called ‘superhero nurse’ headbands which make face masks more comfortable for medical staff to wear as they fit on the back of the head rather than on to the back of ears.

Morley said he has been touched by the generosity of people during his voluntary work – including the donation of half a kilometre of plastic for his project from one well-wisher.

“While browsing social media on the state of the COVID-19 situation, I was aware that there was a huge shortage of medical grade personal protective equipment for our NHS and other healthcare communities around the UK,” he said.

“It made me dust off my 3D printer and help contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and support our heroic NHS.”

“I am glad I can help out and make use of my printer during this national crisis and keep myself active with volunteers during the furlough period. It is amazing what support there is out there and how much people would like to help.”

JCB Chief Innovation Officer, Tim Burnhope, said the company is delighted to be able to play a role in helping provide the fantastic NHS with protective equipment.

“The volunteer employees who are part of this amazing effort are also to be commended for stepping up at this time of national crisis,” he said.

RELATED: