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s the government and carmakers engage in talks on the possibility of producing ventilators, an automotive industry expert says it will take time and a long process to turn the idea into reality.

A Jakarta-based automotive expert Bebin Djuana, who is also an executive with a major car producer, said that it would be quite challenging for carmakers to accept the offer from the government to produce such important health equipment.

“It’s actually possible for the automotive industry to produce ventilators, but it would take time and need a lot of help from medical equipment manufacturers and the government,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Bebin said the car manufacturers needed the product’s blueprints, raw materials and production line designs before being able to start producing ventilators.

“One of the most pressing issues is that of ventilators, as medical equipment has standards that the automotive industry does not currently meet. The raw materials themselves should be medical-grade so companies cannot just acquire them from their usual markets,” he said.

Bebin added that production lines in the factories might also need to be transformed, and companies might have to procure new equipment to manufacture ventilators.

“The engineers need to determine which equipment is needed to produce the ventilators first, then the production team must identify their equipment availability. I don’t think carmakers could easily start production with their standard production equipment,” he said.

The Industry Ministry is currently in talks with the automotive industry on the possibility of producing ventilators to meet the rising demand for medical equipment as the number of COVID-19 patients in the country continues to increase, officials said.

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said he had talked to Indonesia’s major automakers about the possibility of producing the ventilators, which are currently in short supply, to help COVID-19 patients with breathing difficulties.

“We will produce a simple ventilator prototype that can be mass-produced through cooperation between the automotive and component industries to supply ventilators,” Agus said in a press release on Friday.

Across the globe, carmakers are shifting gear to produce ventilators and respirators using a 3D printing method. Ford, General Motors, Ferrari and Nissan have joined conglomerates General Electrics and 3M Co. in the race to meet the rising demand for medical equipment.

In Indonesia, the Industry Ministry has contacted carmakers and the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) in regard to possible ventilator development, according to the ministry’s maritime, transportation and defense equipment industry director, Putu Juli Andika.

“We have contacted several companies and Gaikindo,” Putu told the Post on Monday via text message without revealing the companies that were contacted.

A subsidiary of Toyota Indonesia, PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMI), confirmed that the company had been asked by the Industry Ministry to produce ventilators and it is currently engaged in discussions with the ministry.

“We are looking at all the possibilities, whether to produce the parts or the ventilator as a whole. We’ll do whatever we can to support the fight,” TMMI’s administration, corporation, and external relations director Bob Azam told the Post on Saturday.

However, Bob said the company needed time to study the products before deciding whether the company could produce the ventilators.

“If we look abroad, health equipment producers already have the ventilator blueprints and they only require the automotive industry to help manufacture the products to keep up with the demand. We would need the product blueprints and time to study them before coming to a further conclusion,” he said.

Bob added that the ministry had just contacted the company in mid-March and they were currently still in preliminary talks.

The government previously vowed to support manufacturers with the capacity to produce desperately needed protective gear, test kits and ventilators to curb the global spread of COVID-19 alongside other Group of 20 nations.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday that the government would identify such companies and “see to their needs” for raw materials and other requirements in order to increase their production capacity and restore the supply chain.

“Indonesia could also have a chance [to produce more medical equipment] because Indonesia has the capacity to supply protective gear, hand sanitizer and so forth,” Sri Mulyani told a teleconferenced media briefing after a virtual extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit on Thursday evening Jakarta time.

As of Tuesday, Indonesia had recorded 1,528 confirmed cases and 136 deaths. (mpr)