Maroon Group LLC has purchased ingredients distributor Lincoln Fine Ingredients for undisclosed terms. Chemical producers are looking to take advantage of a fairly fragmented sector and grow through acquisitions.

LFI, founded in 1976 and located in Lincoln, Rhode Island, distributes chemicals and ingredients such as alcohol, amino acids, oils and sweeteners. The company works with the cosmetic, food and beverage, household and personal care and pharmaceutical sectors.

“We’re excited to be part of a dynamic organization like Maroon Group that allows us to continue to lead, collaborate across our combined platform and invest in our growth,” says LFI president Walter Martish III. The target’s management team will continue to run the business.

Founded in 1977, Maroon Group is an Avon, Ohio-based supplier of chemical additives, resins, pigments and packaging to more than 900 manufacturers across a variety of industries, including: paint and coatings, plastics, graphic arts, sealants and adhesives, specialty chemical compounders, rubber, and construction. The company previously bought Cadence Chemcial Corp. and U.S. chemicals.

Recent deals for specialty chemical companies include: Platte River Equity’s purchase of Tiger-Sul Products LLC, a maker of crop performance products for the agricultural and industrial sector; Hastings Equity Partners’ acquisition of Impact Chemical Technologies, a chemical maker to the oil and gas industries; Advent International’s acquiring chemicals producer Viakem SA de CV; Bayer AG’s making an unsolicited bid for Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON); Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. merging to form a $130 billion chemical company; and FMC Corp.’s (NYSE: FMC) completed purchase of Cheminova.