PARMA, Italy, May 24 (Xinhua) -- An international expo focusing on industrial automation technologies was held in northern Italy's Parma from May 22 to 24, gathering companies from all over the world.

In its eighth annual edition, the SPS IPC Drives Italia expo saw the participation of more than 800 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions, according to data released Thursday by Messe Frankfurt Italia, the organizer.

The core concept of the expo was to bring together manufacturers and IT technology promoting the digital automation from an Industry 4.0 perspective. Apart from this, the event provided also a useful platform to promote communication and cooperation between companies from different parts of the world.

Italy's "Industry 4.0 lab" -- as the expo was described by its German organizers -- was conceived as a journey through five thematic halls, with the big news of this year being an area dedicated to the digitalization of manufacturing plants, gathering all the major players of digital, software and cyber security industries.

"It's amazing how the event is able to adapt to technology and market trends," said Messe Frankfurt Italia's CEO Donald Wich, adding that the digital-dedicated area, with its journey through the development of digital transformation, makes the expo the "best platform in Italy to bring together manufacturers and IT technology."

Beside the robust presence of European companies, the expo also featured the participation of some Chinese companies, mainly dealing with electronic components manufacturing.

"This is a useful platform for selling, but also to get information about new technologies," said Robin Zhu, representing a company from the Chinese tech-hub of Shenzhen, adding that "given the Chinese spirit of continuous self-improvement, the more China will open up the more it will achieve in technology."

According to Italy's largest federation of electronic companies, Italy's automation sector is "very healthy", growing 13.5 percent year-on-year with an annual revenue of about 5 billion euros (5.8 billion U.S. dollars).