When the UK stood in the face of a rapidly escalating COVID-19 outbreak and thousands of people were being admitted to hospitals daily, the British Government feared an impending shortage of machines vital for treating critically ill patients. So, the UK Prime Minister called on industry to manufacture new ventilators to help meet the unprecedented demand.
Responding to the call for assistance, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult CEO, Dick Elsy, pulled numerous leading aerospace, automotive and engineering businesses - including Smiths Group, Penlon, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, McLaren, DHL and Accenture – together to form the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium.
Pooling skills and cross-industry expertise, the consortium evaluated ventilator designs, choosing ones by Smiths Group and Penlon to produce and deliver to hospitals nationwide.