A look at who's on the move in Saskatchewan business.

Finance, technology, real estate and hogs. This may not be the Saskatchewan economy of yesteryear but it certainly represents the future. These are among the industries represented by the province's fastest growing companies. They're tomorrow's stars.

While some of the best names in Saskatchewan enterprise - Cameco, IPSCO, Brandt Industries and Concorde - rank among the fastest in this year's list, the majority are the up-and-comers, firms emerging from adolescence to take their place at the forefront of the province's commercial scene in the years ahead.

Technology factors into the picture in a big way. Points North Digital, a high profile multimedia player developed by Glenn Kerby, sits atop the list, followed by Hamilton Myriadgate and dot.com which have parlayed the latest in technology into robust enterprises.

If nothing else, this year's ranking provides a snapshot of the way the province's economy is going. It's diversifying, not in favor of agriculture, but alongside it. Wheat remains king, but unlike a couple decades ago, today's there's a lot of little princes and princesses running in the castle.

The death of the Crow Rate, that insidious subsidy that encourages shipment of basic commodities (and processing jobs) has spawned a revival in the livestock sector, notably the pork business represented by Outlook's Quadra Group. Tomorrow's fast risers no doubt will be those who service this emerging sector.

As we bid farewell to our first century, Saskatchewan's economy is undergoing a fundamental restructuring as profound as its early days a hundred years ago. No longer are we completely dependent on commodity prices and the vagaries of the weather. Innovation and technology have made it possible for firms such as IPSCO to become one of the five largest steel companies in North America. But IPSCO isn't the only steel or manufacturing company on the list. It's just the biggest.

The province has spawned a variety of communication companies - from cable distribution operations, to printing and advertising and information distribution. We even have filmmakers who successfully find work around the world.

Nor have we missed the rapid growth in information technology - with at least a half dozen firms who convert computer power into jobs and wealth populating this year's rankings.

In fact, only three or four companies - roughly 10 per cent - on the list are agricultural. Sure, Saskatchewan of the next century will be a major player on the international farm scene, but we'll be more than that. Of course, we will be a major resource producer but we're also building a reputation of fields such as communications and new technologies. click here for listing of top 20 companies