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Two India-based facilities of tyre maker CEAT and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd have joined the Global Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum for transforming manufacturing through innovation. Announcing 17 new members to the network, the WEF on Tuesday said this community of 189 industry leaders is pioneering the use of cutting-edge Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies in manufacturing. Other new members are based in the United Arab Emirates, China, Germany, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States and newcomer Morocco, home to the first Lighthouse site in Africa. The latest cohort of Lighthouses has observed an average 53 per cent boost in labour productivity and 26 per cent reduction in conversion costs attributed to various digital solutions such as AI, machine learning, advanced analytics and more, the WEF said. On Sriperumbudur facility of CEAT Ltd, the WEF said, "To support global expansion, CEAT needed to manage three times more SKUs ..
Tyre maker CEAT Ltd expects double-digit growth in replacement and international business this fiscal despite a high natural rubber price forcing it to hike product rates, according to its MD and CEO Arnab Banerjee. The company, which has taken price hikes of 2-2.5 per cent in the replacement segment since May, expects another round of increase towards the end of July but is betting on robust demand across categories and turnaround of the rural market to drive growth. "We would like to think that unless there are some unforeseen headwinds, the growth will be steady and positive. We would like to maintain double-digit growth in the replacement segment and international business," Banerjee told PTI. As for the company's sales to OEM, he said, "We see growth potential much ahead of 3 per cent in the passenger segment for CEAT on the basis of the model pipeline". In the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the company had posted good topline growth as rural demand has come back while .