since 1976
since 1976
As Malaysia continues its fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, national automaker PROTON is stepping up to the plate again to do its part to support the country’s frontliners. Following the loan of 50 units of the Proton X70 to the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Company will now produce face shields, an important component of a health worker’s Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) attire.
PROTON has started producing face shields for medical frontliners as the Company reinforces its commitment to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Malaysia. The first batch of 8,000 units will be shipped out on 16 April to hospitals in Kelantan followed by other East coast states due to the logistics involved.
Production is set to begin on 13 April at PROTON’s headquarters in Shah Alam with assembly to be undertaken by 50 staff members who volunteered, picked from a pool of volunteers. Up to 3,000 units can be produced in a single day, and the Company is expected to take approximately 20 days to produce the 60,000 units it has committed to deliver.
“As a national automotive brand, PROTON is driven by its responsibility to develop the local car industry and to support Malaysia and its people in their time of need. We have the knowhow to produce cars so we are using that knowledge to produce PPE equipment to support the brave men and women at the frontline of the battle against the spread of COVID-19. The face shields will be delivered in batches and we will work closely with the Ministry to distribute them according to the level of need in each district,” said Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PROTON.
Following the regulations set by the Movement Control Order (MCO), PROTON has obtained permission from the authorities for a small number of staff to work on the face shield production line at Shah Alam. Their movement and working hours will be monitored to ensure compliance to distancing rules.
“To keep within the MCO rules, PROTON has limited the number of staff involved in the production process. The safety of everyone is of the utmost importance and therefore social distancing and sanitising practices will be strictly enforced on the production line,” added Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed.
A joint effort with PROTON’s partners
While PROTON is responsible for the assembly and distribution of its face shields, the Company has received contributions from its vendor community who are eager to get involved. One such contributor is Pos Logistics Sdn Bhd, one of the biggest logistics service providers in Malaysia. They contributed over 2,000 large carton boxes that will be used to pack the face shields and make it easier to transport them.
Automotive component supplier, HICOM-Teck See Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn Bhd, is another vendor supporting this initiative. They have contributed 1500kg of polypropylene, one of the main components in a car bumper, which will be used to produce the frame of the face shields.
The original design for the face shield was contributed by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM). The designers at PROTON Design then developed the frame based on feedback from end users and also added the slogan STAY STRONG! We will get through this!
