Southfield, Michigan – Automotive seating manufacturer Lear has added capacity at its AccuMed production facility to produce protective masks for use in the COVID-19 pandemic. It has donated masks to both the City of Detroit for use by the police and fire departments, and also to the Detroit Medical Center, the largest healthcare provider in south-east Michigan.
‘We are proud to support pandemic relief efforts in the communities where we live and work,’ said president and CEO Ray Scott. ‘Protecting hospital staff and public safety officers has never been more important as they continue to go to work every day during this crisis to help others in need.
A facemask was designed at another Lear facility, in Mocksville, North Carolina, in February in response to a shortage of personal protective equipment in China. Production capacity was implemented in less than 72 hours, and the total capacity is now 25,000/day, given sufficient raw materials.
The company is also planning to start making the masks at plants in Mexico and Europe. Once fully operational, about 1200 workers will be able to make 125,000 masks for their local communities.
Developers at Mocksville are also now working on full-face shield visors for healthcare workers.
