Ceat plant named a WEF Lighthouse

Ceat has become the first tyre brand in the world to gain World Economic Forum (WEF) ‘Lighthouse’ certification. As of January 2023, the WEF Lighthouse Network consists of 132 lighthouses around the world, and Ceat’s Halol plant in India is one of 18 new lighthouses (plus 3 new sustainability lighthouses) named at this year’s WEF meeting. Anant Goenka, the tyre maker’s managing director, accepted the honour on behalf of Ceat at a ceremony in Davos on Monday.

As the WEF explains, the Global Lighthouse Network is a “community of manufacturing sites and value chains that are world leaders in the adoption and integration of the cutting-edge technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Lighthouses apply Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D-printing and big data analytics to maximise efficiency and competitiveness at scale, transform business models and drive economic growth, while augmenting the workforce, protecting the environment and contributing to a learning journey for all-sized manufacturers across all geographies and industries.

“To capture greater market volumes, Ceat needed to incorporate greener materials and meet stringent in-process specifications,” states the WEF. “Ceat deployed Fourth Industrial Revolution use cases like Advanced Analytics to optimise cycle times and digitalisation of the operator’s touchpoints. As a result, the site reduced cycle times by 20 per cent, process scrap by 46 per cent, and energy consumption by 15 per cent. Overall, this resulted in a ~2.5x increase in export and OEM sales in two years.”

#CEAT is the first tyre brand in the world to be awarded the coveted Lighthouse certification by World Economic Forum in #Davos for advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Analytics #Industry4.0. And among the two Indian companies to be given this award yesterday. pic.twitter.com/cIc4yoz1TM

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) January 17, 2023

Setting the pace across industries

“By integrating 4IR technologies into their operations, Lighthouse companies are achieving double-digit impact on throughput, costs, and lead times,” says Francisco Betti, the WEF’s head of advanced manufacturing and value chains. “In this next chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, they are setting the pace across industries. Lighthouses are demonstrating how to scale advanced technologies across entire manufacturing networks and beyond towards suppliers and customers or new functions, such as procurement, logistics, and research and development.”

Speaking with Indian financial newspaper Hindu Business Line, Anant Goenka shared that the journey to gain Lighthouse certification began “three to four years back.” Goenka confirmed that the certification process involved WEF checks and audits of the Halol plant’s fourth industrial revolution technology, including advanced analytics, machine learning, and predictive analytics.

The Global Lighthouse Network is a World Economic Forum initiative in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, factories and value chains that join the network are designated by an independent panel of experts.