The Manufacturing Circle is preparing to unveil a new document outlining the goals that have to be achieved to expand the manufacturing sector to leverage South Africa’s “greatest opportunity” for growth.

The report, titled ‘Three Goals to Grow Manufacturing: South Africa’s Greatest Opportunity for job-rich growth’, would be launched on June 29 at the two-day Manufacturing Indaba, in line with the framework of the event, Manufacturing Circle executive director Coenraad Bezuidenhout said on Monday.

The industry organisation, which had been a partner of the yearly event since its inception last year, was also providing its input to the conferences agenda to ensure its relevance to manufacturing-focused public and private sector stakeholders.

“Attendance and interest of manufacturers until the last minutes of the inaugural event in Ekurhuleni was exceptional because the event is about identifying opportunities in the market for greater alignment between government and the private sector,” he said of the event that attracted 240 delegates in 2014.

This year, with the international profile of speakers, the high-level involvement from government and the private sector and the heightened relevance of this year’s programme, Bezuidenhout believed that this month’s conference would be “invaluable” to South Africa’s manufacturers.

The Manufacturing Circle-commissioned research showed a delicate balance in which an economy required a flourishing manufacturing sector to grow, but an expanding manufacturing sector needed a strong economy.

The research showed a direct correlation between gross domestic product (GDP) growth and manufacturing output over four decades spanning 1974 to 2014, unveiling the importance of greater alignment between policymakers and the private sector on how to keep manufacturing resilient and create a positive policy environment to promote manufacturing growth.

Currently, manufacturing contributed around 15% of GDP.

Statistics South Africa revealed that the seasonally adjusted manufacturing output this year had flatlined at the same level it was in 2006, with manufacturing sales between the last quarter of last year and first quarter down 3.1% or R14.7-billion.