Falcon Shoe is getting the boot, and couldn’t be happier.

A five-year contract for firefighter footwear has put the 30-year-old Lewiston company on solid financial footing and, coming on the heels of L.L. Bean’s announcement to make pieces of its symbolic boots here, proves L-A’s manufacturing economy is evolving, not decaying.

Mass production may have fled overseas, but Falcon’s success shows the profit of niche manufacturing. L-A may no longer make shoes to shod the world, but plenty of feet remain to make our industry thrive.