Putting new ideas to work

The old tanneries and big mills are gone _ either moved out of town or gone out of business.

But before you decide that manufacturing has left the North Shore, read a little further and you'll see that manufacturing here has transformed itself into something much different and more sophisticated than anything the old captains of industry ever imagined.

From the ashes of the old giants have sprung new, agile, technology-conscious firms. Many of them parlayed a new idea, a passion for success and sometimes frighteningly little money into successful businesses that make something people need.

And that's the focus of the three editions of Pulse 2001 _ new ideas and the people who make them work.

The edition you're reading now, about manufacturing, is the first of this year's offerings. We'll examine service industries on the North Shore next week, and the last of the three sections will focus on wealth _ how we make it, how we spend it, and how elusive it sometimes is in our fast-changing economy.