A milestone has been passed: over 3,000 ventilators produced in Italy

A remarkable result for the cooperation between Special Commissioner Arcuri, Siare and FCA

In only three months, the milestone of building over 3,000 ventilators for the Italian response to the COVID-19 public #health emergency has been passed. This is an extraordinary achievement for the cooperation between the Department of Civil Protection, its Special Commissioner for the coronavirus outbreak #domenicoarcuri, and Siare Engineering, based in Valsamoggia (near Bologna) – the only company in Italy that produces these specific electrical medical devices. The project was led by Siare’s Giuseppe and #gianlucapreziosa; by the Italian employees of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles under #luigigalante, Head of Manufacturing – Premium Brands for FCA’s EMEA Region; by #enniomeccia, Director of Manufacturing Engineering for FCA’s EMEA Region; and by #carlodigiacomo, director of the Cento plant, near Ferrara.

Before the pandemic broke out, monthly production at Siare Engineering stood at around 125 machines. Drawing on the manufacturing and management know-how at FCA’s EMEA Region Manufacturing Engineering division – in turn based on WCM (World Class Manufacturing) methods – the business was repurposed. With the assistance of all parties involved, production rose from 8 to 80 units per day, partly thanks to fulfillment of the requests for help at the plant.

A crucial strength in the new organization of work was the possibility of building solenoid valves – the ‘beating heart’ of a ventilator – at the FCA plant in Cento (near Ferrara), a gem in the production of high-performance engines for markets all over the world. At the same time, an optimal technology solution was found to adapt the production line at the Siare Engineering laboratories in Bologna for the solenoid valves produced by the Cento plant.
With the impetus of all the parties involved in the operation, the construction of the solenoid valves at Cento resulted in a reduction of at least 30-50% in the time it took to produce a finished device at the Valsamoggia plant.