Sonalika Tractors develops ventilator, looks to produce 3k units a month

Sonalika Tractors said on Tuesday that it has developed a ventilator to support COVID-19 patients and is looking to produce 3,000 units per month once it starts production of the equipment. Owned by Hoshiarpur-based International Tractors Ltd (ITL), Sonalika already has three prototypes of these ventilators ready and plans to make two more before commencing factory production, a spokesperson said.

The company has specially designed these ventilators to meet variable mode requirements of invasive ventilation available on all advanced critical care ventilators and it is designed with indigenously developed oil-free air compressor which not only makes the equipment self-reliant for use outside an ICU but also acts as a back-up compressor in case of any failure of hospital infrastructure, Sonalika Tractors said in a release. "We have three prototypes ready with us and plans to have five prototypes. When we receive the mandatory certification from the relevant authorities, we will go for the factory production of these ventilators," a spokesperson told PTI.

Prompted by the lack of adequate ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic, many automakers in the country have ventured into the manufacturing of this life-saving equipment. "At Sonalika, we stand committed towards the well-being of communities. It feels immensely satisfying to be able to contribute to the nation''s call for Make-in-India at this hour of need.

"In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s call for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, our team has been able to make this ventilator indigenously, which is ready to fight COVID-19," said Amrit Sagar Mittal, vice-chairman, Sonalika Group. The project team worked closely with experienced anaesthesiologists to understand the exact situation-action correlation and built in that intelligence into the system, Akshay Sangwan, director (development) at Sonalika Tractor, said in the release.

"Standard calibration tests have been done on artificial lungs and we have also performed accelerated durability tests for 1-million cycles non-stop. The entire project was driven by six sigma methodology ensuring highest quality and performance standards," he said. He also added that the company is targeting to manufacture 3,000 ventilators per month and will ramp up production based on requirement.

Raman Mittal, executive director, Sonalika Group, said that among the host of initiatives extended to cope up with the pandemic, manufacturing these intelligent ventilators is testimony of the company's commitment to use technology customisation. "Development of this machine called for knowledge in embedded coding, monitoring software, electronic control circuits, mechanical functioning of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.

"This is an advanced machine with built-in deep intelligence, operating under tight tolerances of air pressure and volume. Accuracy of the data and the speed of decision making by the machine on every breath defines its efficiency," he added..