A joint venture between Spirit AeroSystems and Vyaire Medical, Inc. has subleased the vacant Honeywell facilities at Eisenhower National Airport. Vyaire is the world’s largest healthcare company fully dedicated to respiratory care, and together with Spirit, will manufacture critical care ventilators for use during the COVID-19 crisis.
This temporary partnership will allow Vyaire to quickly ramp up production of ventilators and other related respiratory equipment. Spirit’s technical capabilities, manufacturing prowess, and available skilled workforce will allow Vyaire to immediately move into the facility and rapidly begin construction of the equipment.
Spirit has expertise with industrializing and building at high production rates, and has a large, well-trained and experienced workforce of assembly mechanics, machinists, factory managers, and supply chain professionals already working to support conversion of manufacturing to medical devices. Design of the production system is already underway, and teams are readying the airport facilities with production materials, critical equipment, and building infrastructure to stand up manufacturing lines.
Training of staff is proceeding and approximately 700 Spirit employees will be assigned to this special project as production ramps up. The joint venture is expected to have more than 1,000 workers, with the 700 from Spirit and 300 from Vyaire, who will be working at the Wichita facility and one in California. The operation in Wichita is expected to continue for about a year.
