There were a handful of specialty businesses scattered in pockets across the company.

But for the most part, specialty businesses were tolerated, not nurtured.

In that atmosphere, Goodrich's hodgepodge of specialty businesses began to look quite good to an increasingly desperate management.

"They've committed themselves to selling some of the specialty businesses, but until they do that, they have to look for ways to improve cash flow."

Some analysts and executives, however, say the specialty pharmaceutical business has limits.

Moreover, the specialty pharmaceutical business is becoming mighty crowded.

They also create a demand for specialty businesses, like the classics-and-foreign-film video store on Hudson Street.

Novartis is a giant of the industry and it probably signifies that they want to build up the specialty business.

The outsize tires have historically been a specialty business, so there was rarely an abundance of production capacity.

Some specialty businesses attract customers only from a very specific national background.