HSV and Premcar unite to fight COVID-19

Two long-time automotive rivals have crossed the Holden-Ford divide to fight the coronavirus.

The Walkinshaw Automotive Group, parent of Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), and Premcar, which draws its roots from the now defunct Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), have pooled engineering and production resources to locally manufacture a Constant Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine designed by the Mercedes-AMG F1 team.

The UCL-Ventura CPAP device is already approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which means it can be immediately pressed into service to aid Australian patients with respiratory problems such as COVID-19.

It has already been used extensively in Italy and China to aid pandemic patients.

A CPAP machine delivers constant and steady air pressure to patients when a face mask isn’t enough, ensuring their airway doesn’t collapse.

Patients remain awake and the process is less invasive than ventilators, which are regarded as a last resort treatment.

Walkinshaw and Premcar were considering ventilator manufacture when carsales broke the news of their partnership in March.

But with efforts to ‘flatten the curve’ in Australia an outstanding success, a surplus of ventilators has been built up in Australia and the CPAP device was judged a better way to exploit their abilities.

“There is a lot of companies that have gone and made ventilators out there which are very agricultural and rudimentary and have zero certification and will likely never be used in a hospital,” said Walkinshaw Automotive Group director Ryan Walkinshaw.

“For us a key priority was let’s build something that is TGA-certified and can be used in hospitals if it is required.”

As of today (June 3), 103 Australians have died with COVID-19 and more than 7000 are infected. Globally, a staggering 380,385 have died and more than 6.38 million infected.

Walkinshaw and Premcar can produce the CPAP units at a rate of 1000 per month under license. No sales have been confirmed, but the partners are working closely with government authorities on potential requirements. Both companies insist they do not see this project as a profit maker.

The two businesses have also tooled up to make as many as 100,000 TGA-approved face shields per week.

The Walkinshaw-Premcar initiative is the latest in a series by automotive and motorsport operations in Australia to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic including Ford, Toyota, Triple Eight Race Engineering and Erebus Motorsport.

Premcar engineering chief Bernie Quinn revealed the partnership was born out of a chance meeting with Walkinshaw at a café as the pandemic first began to gather momentum in China.

“Following that initial discussion Ryan gave me a call at home one night and we started to talk about what we could possibly do together in response [to the pandemic],” he explained.

“I am very glad that Premcar and Walkinshaw Automotive Group have come together to work on the CPAP device.

“To be honest it’s not only been a tremendous outcome from a technical point of view, but the co-operation was an absolute pleasure to be part of. The teams gelled immediately, and the progress was swift.”

Federal industry minister Karen Andrews applauded the CPAP initiative by the two traditional rivals.

“This is just another example of the incredible ingenuity that’s been on display from Aussie manufacturers right throughout the COVID crisis.

While WAG has long been linked with Holden it’s primarily now known as a remanufacturer of Chevrolet Silverado and RAM pick-up trucks from left- to right-hand drive at its Clayton facility. It also provides design and engineering services to auto manufacturers.

It is currently in negotiation with General Motors to establish a new special vehicle business in Australia following Holden's withdrawal, called GMSV.

Premcar retains links with Ford, but is nowadays better known for its design, engineering and manufacturing of the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior at its Epping headquarters.

In one form or another, Walkinshaw and Premcar have been competitors for 25 years.

“I look forward to further collaboration with our old foes from Clayton,” said Quinn. “I think both parties can benefit enormously from the combined skills and competencies of the two organisations. Perhaps more importantly, so can our customers.”