Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
How often do car manufacturers make their own components? How often do they just assemble parts from their suppliers?
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US car manufacturers iare in the business of designing and assembling cars. They sold off their parts businesses decades ago. They still do some limited stamping for the unibody and casting for things like engine blocks.
My understanding is GM is using their manufacturing and logistical expertise and billions in cash to rapidly scale up Ventec's production and design. They are using their existing supplier network to tool up and produce those parts. Take any part of the ventilator and they have existing contracts with multiple companies that could make that kind of part. Ventec doesn't have those contacts.
Ventec made 150 ventilators per month before this and now they want to make 10,000 a month. GM's manufacturing engineers now how to analysis the assembly work required, break that up into stations and set up assembly lines capable of that volume. Their logistical people know how to get those parts to the plant one time and set up the purchasing and shipping contracts required. By the time their suppliers are set up to make parts the Kokomo factor will have the assembly line ready. GM has the cash to do this now and wait to get paid back in a few months time.
As discussed in a different thread, GM no longer owns the Lordstown factory. It matters because Trump personally went to Lordstown and told GM workers not to sell their houses and move to other jobs because he would prevent GM from closing the plant. GM made him look bad and he is a vengeful person.
Trump is also angry that GM said they could only produce 6,000 ventilators by the end of April and then 10,000 a month after. He seemed to believe 2-4 weeks is too long to completely tool up a factory. Now that he has changed his mind and decided we need tens of thousands of new ventilators he wants them now not a couple weeks from now.