Formaspace builds ESD workbenches for ventilator production at GM

Austin, Texas-based Formaspace has completed an initial order of 500 new electrostatic discharge (ESD) workbenches destined for General Motors’ manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Ind., where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first truckload of workbenches departed the Formaspace factory within three days of receiving the order, with subsequent truckloads shipping out each day until the initial order was completed.

Assembly operations at the 100,000-sq.-ft. GM facility in Kokomo span three floors of the building and feature a cleanroom area and two production lines. The workbenches are used for assembling the delicate electronic components. Each workbench has work surfaces with full-coverage ESD protection (to suppress static electric shocks that could damage sensitive microelectronics), built-in parts bins, heavy-duty white powder-coated steel frames, integrated overhead lighting, and eight-plug power strips.