Ford Will Donate Two Million Face Masks To The State Of Ohio

September 24, 2020 2:30 am

As we reported earlier this month, Ford plans to produce and donate 100 million face masks through 2021 for communities across the U.S. with limited access to personal protective equipment. Two million of those medical grade face masks will go to the state of Ohio, Lt. Governor Jon Husted has announced.

“This is part of their effort to provide 100 million medical grade face masks through 2021,” Husted said. “We very much appreciate their donation to Ohio, and all the people that they employ here, how they’re helping us get through the virus, grow jobs, and keep people safe.”

Ford employs around 6,000 workers in the state of Ohio at four plants – the Ford Ohio Assembly Plant, Ford Cleveland Engine Plant, Ford Lima Engine Plant, and Ford Sharonville Transmission Plant.

Ford is currently manufacturing 2.5 million medical-grade face masks a week for its employees and at-risk communities, and plans to grow its number of mask-making machines by mid- to late-October to increase production and deliver on its goal.

Ford is working with the Ford Motor Company Fund, the company’s philanthropic arm, to identify donation recipients across the U.S. through a network of nonprofit and state and local partners. The company is focusing on military veterans, schools, food banks, and African American communities, among others.

In addition to face masks, Ford’s Project Apollo, the internal codename for the company’s all-out effort to design and manufacture personal protective equipment, has led to the production of air-purifying respirators, face shields, medical gowns for healthcare workers and first responders, and ventilators for COVID-19 patients.

Project Apollo was recently featured in a short documentary by award-winning director Peter Berg titled On the Line, which features members of Ford’s Project Apollo team, including the engineers who led the project and the UAW team members who volunteered to work at the height of the pandemic.

We’ll have more on Ford’s PPE making efforts soon, so be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford-related COVID-19 news and ongoing Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.