Ferrari started to produce respirator valves and fittings for protective masks at its Maranello plant in efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The facility where car prototypes are usually built has been repurposed to produce the thermoplastic components using additive manufacturing technology.

Diving equipment manufacturer Mares developed the valve to create an emergency mask to assist patients suffering from respiratory failure.

Meanwhile, Nuovamacut Gruppo TeamSystem handled the logistics and also helped with the research of the different companies that contributed to the success of the project.

Other fittings are being supplied to Solid Energy, who will use them to transform Decathlon snorkel masks into aids to protect healthcare workers exposed to infection.

In the next few days, Ferrari plans to manufacture several hundred items of equipment that are already being distributed by some of the companies involved, with the coordination of the Italian Civil Protection, to various Italian hospitals including those in Bergamo, Genoa, Modena, and Sassuolo as well as to health workers in the town of Medicina, near Bologna.