ARMOR, AIRBUS, Pays-de-la-Loire Authorities to Produce 20,000 Visors

The regional council of Pays-de-la-Loire and the AIRBUS and ADVEO groups have joined forces with ARMOR to optimize and maximize production of the protective visor model designed in collaboration with the University of Nantes and approved by Nantes CHU (teaching hospital).

The AIRBUS sites in the region are contributing their 3D printers and the ADVEO group, a European market leader in the office equipment sector, is providing 60,000 PVC sheets.

“The innovation and ‘maker’ teams at the AIRBUS sites in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire decided to support the hospital personnel on the front line in the fight against Covid-19.  A group of volunteers was quickly mobilized to participate in the 3D printed visor project led by ARMOR and the University of Nantes. The collective initiative will produce an additional 600 headbands each week for the manufacture of visors using about 30 3D printers,” said Yves-Olivier Lenormand, regional delegate at AIRBUS Development.

“The ARMOR group is providing the know-how and production capacity of its 3D printing company, Kimya. Our teams identify the needs and then collaborate closely with CHU Nantes and other operators requiring visors and masks. Many companies are also asking us for supplies in order to protect their employees. I am convinced that the mobilization of the ecosystem (companies, public authorities, regional and city councils) will enable us to exit this pandemic even stronger than before,” added Hubert de Boisredon, CEO of ARMOR.

“The financing from the regional council enables production of 20,000 protective visors to be launched without delay. I can only salute the collective effort of major players such as ARMOR and AIRBUS. It demonstrates the strength of the region’s industrial fabric and our depth of expertise in innovation and research,” noted Christelle Morançais, president of Pays-de-la-Loire regional council.
 
ARMOR and the University of Nantes have developed this model of visor produced using additive manufacturing in order to mitigate the shortfall of the personal protective equipment so badly needed by everyone mobilized to tackle the pandemic, especially in the healthcare sector.