REGIONAL> Development
Machine tool fair to open
By CHEN QIDE (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-07 13:55

An international machine tool fair will open at the Shanghai New International Expo Center on July 9 in a bid to promote China's machine tool industry.

The four-day EASTPO 2008, co-launched by the Shanghai Multinational Purchasing Center, will have a presence of 1,200 enterprises from home and abroad, said Zhang Ting, a spokeswoman with the show, Monday.

The world's most famous machine tool makers, including Spinner, DMG, Mazark, Mitsubishi, Citizen, Haas, Hardinge, HERMLE, AMADA, Doosan-Daewoo and MAG, will showcase their state-of-the-art products under a 100,000-square-meter roof.

"These sophisticated technologies will surely help visitors know more about the growth tendency of the world's machine tool industry," said Zhang.

Local insiders said a large number of high-quality machine tools are urgently needed to meet the needs of the country's industries, including the shipbuilding industry.

“Because of the rapid growth of shipbuilding, the development of its chain industries has seriously lagged behind," Zhang said.

For a long time, China has been heavily relying on imports to meet its demand in marine diesel engines and crankshafts for middle and low-speed diesel.

"It has become a bottleneck in the development of China's shipbuilding industry," she said.

Insiders said a large sum of money will be made in its technical transformation and production facilities.