– Ventec Life Systems will stop producing medical breathing machines in Kokomo by the end of the month, the company’s CEO has told employees. Ventec is “winding down production in Indiana” because of weakening demand for its ventilators, Ventec CEO Chris Kiple said in an email sent to employees Tuesday and obtained by the Kokomo Tribune. The company has about 800 employees in Kokomo. President Donald Trump ordered GM to build the ventilators in March under the Defense Production Act. “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made production in Kokomo such as success in the past nine months,” Kiple wrote in his email.

Workers prepare to build ventilators at the GM manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, Monday, April 6, 2020, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by AJ Mast for General Motors)DETROIT – General Motors announced Tuesday that its first Ventec Life Systems V+Pro critical care ventilators are ready for delivery to the U.S. government’s Strategic National Stockpile. GM was awarded April 8 with a government contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build 30,000 ventilators by August. The automaker is working with Ventec Life Systems, a partnership announced in March, to produce the machines at its plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The automaker said it has the capacity to build more ventilators after August if needed.

GM awarded government contract to build 30,000 ventilatorsPublished: April 8, 2020, 12:09 pmGeneral Motors has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build 30,000 ventilators by August.