Evening Press leader

To outsiders, North Yorkshire is a place of rolling dales, ancient traditions and tranquillity. They might be surprised to learn that it is also home to some of the most dynamic business brains in Britain.

Small teams of creative thinkers across the county are developing innovative new products that will revolutionise the way we live. Most of the time their efforts go unseen. Today, however, nine of these firms are basking in the spotlight, and deservedly so.

They are the recipients of Smart awards from the Department of Trade and Industry. The very fact that nearly a quarter of the Yorkshire awards go to firms in this county - which has far less than a quarter of the region's population - only confirms that this is a centre of cutting edge technology.

Our winners are working in many different fields. Staff at York-based Revolution Software are taking computer animation to a new level with their 'virtual actors'.

This is undoubtedly the way the entertainment industry is going. We need only think back to the filming of Elizabeth in York. By the time the coronation scene appeared on the big screen, the half empty Minster had been transformed by technical wizards into Westminster Abbey, complete with balconies packed with 'virtual extras'. Similar techniques were used on the multi-Oscar winning blockbuster Titanic.

Meanwhile, scientists at the York Nutritional Laboratory, Evening Press Business Venture of the Year winner, are continuing to make remarkable progress identifying and tackling allergies and other food-related health problems. Now they are developing a self-test kit which is likely to be in great demand.

The Smart winners' projects are diverse, but the firms share a similar ethos. Their success is based on talent and imagination. The contribution they are making to the present and future economy of the area should not be underestimated.

see also 'County firms looking smart'

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