Various kinds of forklifts and excavators of different sizes are on display at the 8th Cross-Straits Machinery Industry Exposition, which kicked off in Longyan city in Southeast China's Fujian province on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cross-Straits machinery companies ought to strengthen in-depth cooperation and continuously improve the industry's competitiveness, according to Zhang Kelin, executive vice-president of the China Machinery Industry Federation.

Zhang made the remarks at the Cross-Straits Machinery Industry Exposition, which kicked off in Longyan city in Southeast China's Fujian province on Wednesday.

The expo, which is being held for the eighth time this year, has attracted more than 300 companies in the machinery sector from the mainland and Taiwan.

Over 20 Taiwan companies are participating in the annual event, and ECOM Precision Machinery is among them.

Founded in Taiwan in 1976, ECOM set up a manufacturing plant in Zhangzhou, Fujian province in 2006 to address the massive demand for machine tools on the mainland.

At this year's expo, ECOM displayed its latest product, a four-axis Vertical Machining Center, which is used to process auto engine parts but doubles the speed of ordinary machines of its kind.

Chen Junhong, marketing manager of ECOM, expressed his vision for strengthening cooperation with his mainland counterparts.

"ECOM is planning to introduce more intelligent facilities and expects to establish partnerships with more mainland companies in machinery research and development," Chen said.

He also mentioned that he looks forward to joining hands with them in exploring the mainland and global markets.