Car giant Ford has put its Dunton Technical Centre to work in the fight against Covid-19 by installing two purpose-built machines capable of producing up to 90 face masks per minute.

Three teams are working around the clock to produce the masks. Dunton Technical Centre manager, Chris White, commented, “To get these machines up and running in such a short time is amazing. The machines were sourced from China, and a Ford China team worked non-stop to prepare the delivery and ensured we could easily learn how to install and use them. Now, just a few weeks after the project was kicked off, we’ve already got our staff covered.”

Ford is also producing personal protective equipment at other sites in Germany, Spain and Romania. The masks are being produced so that thousands of Ford workers can be protected without detracting from the stocks of PPE available for frontline workers.