Zago partners with GM & Ford for air-tight ventilator screws

ZAGO is supplying its air-tight sealing screws to major automotive manufacturers which have switched production to manufacture ventilators for those suffering from Covid-19.

ZAGO's sealing fasteners are engineered with a rubber O-ring that when tightened permanently seals out hazards while withstanding extreme pressure, temperature and weather. The corrosion resistant, USA-made fasteners are a small but significant component in the production of ventilators, products that have been fast-tracked amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Automotive giants GM and Ford have stepped in, partnering with medical ventilator manufacturers to change production lines from the usual cars and trucks.

Newark, New Jersey-located ZAGO said that by late-March, it was fielding calls and filling orders for hundreds of thousands of its air-tight sealing screws.

"At ZAGO, we refer to our specialty sealing fasteners as small components that make a big impact," said Gail Friedberg-Rottenstrich, CEO and Co-Founder, ZAGO. " As a company striving for continuous improvement, we routinely ask ourselves, is this significant to our customers? Then, we got an answer."

While watching US TV programme  60 Minutes on Ford and GM joining the fight against COVID-19, Friedberg-Rottenstrich came upon an interview with Tracy Streeter, a longtime GM fork lift operator, who is installing ZAGO air-tight sealing screws into Ventec medical ventilator parts to prevent oxygen leakage.

He said: "There's a little tiny screw that goes into the part that I build, but even though that screw is so small, it's an important part. I look at it in the scheme of things and I'm probably just as insignificant as that small little screw but I play a part of what's happening in the bigger scale."

Friedberg-Rottenstrich and the ZAGO team had never met  Streeter nor did they know he was responsible for installing ZAGO sealing screws, but were glad it was him.

Jackie Luciano, Vice President, ZAGO, explained: "Mr. Streeter intrinsically understands the integral parts we all play – no matter how big or small - in creating something bigger than ourselves. This perspective keeps us going, day-after-day, and especially during COVID-19."