Stanley Black & Decker to Supply DEWALT Battery System for Ford and 3M's Powered Air-Purifying Respirators

Stanley Black & Decker announced that the company is collaborating with Ford and 3M to supply a DEWALT portable battery solution for their new Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPR), which will be used to help protect healthcare professionals on the front line as they treat patients of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new portable respirator includes a hood and face shield, as well as a high-efficiency (HEPA) filter system that provides clean air supply for up to 8 hours. The Ford design uses off-the-shelf DEWALT 3.0Ah and 5.0Ah batteries, as well as a custom wiring harness engineered specifically for this PAPR design to allow for the easy exchange of battery packs for recharging and continued use.

"Ford and 3M expedited the development of a new PAPR design that helps address the shortage of critical respirator equipment. Through that, an opportunity arose to leverage our scale and expertise to build an innovative solution to power the design," said Frank Mannarino, President, Power Tools Group at Stanley Black & Decker. "We're committed to doing our part as a corporate citizen to contain the spread of the virus. The tireless efforts of our engineering and production teams will help our partners ensure they can manufacture these PAPRs and get them into the hands of healthcare workers as soon as possible. We're proud to collaborate on such an important and impactful project."

Stanley Black & Decker has established a COVID-19 Community Response Task Force to rapidly leverage our global supply chain, advanced manufacturing, and breakthrough innovations to accelerate responses to the pandemic. 

"Throughout this unprecedented period, we remain focused on our key priorities of ensuring the safety and health of our employees, while at the same time continuing to serve our customers and managing our financial strength, and doing our part to help communities and governments mitigate the effects of the virus," said Stanley Black & Decker President & CEO Jim Loree. "This project is a small example of how we're bringing our global supply chain, breakthrough innovations, and our purpose – For Those Who Make the World – to life during the pandemic. We're dedicated to helping those on the frontline who are putting their lives at risk to help others."

The Ford development team expects the respirator design will meet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) protocol to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency, with approval anticipated by the end of April.

*Maximum initial battery voltage (measured without a workload) is 20 volts. Nominal voltage is 18.