Nashua Company will maintain name, staff levels for now.

NASHUA - TradePoint Systems, maker of software for freight forwarders and customs house brokers, has been acquired by Kewill Systems, a supply chain management company based in the United Kingdom.

Kewill proposed buying the company for $11.8 million in cash and $500,000 in shares of Kewill’s ordinary stock, according to a Kewill press release the company put out on Dec. 22, 2003.

Kewill is a provider of U.S. domestic multi-carrier shipping solutions and provides European companies with electronic commerce and order-to-delivery solutions.

TradePoint Systems will keep its name, operate with the same staff and in the same manner it has been operating, according to company officials. TradePoint’s Ken Halle will continue to run the U.S. operations, while Nigel Lothian will run its United Kingdom and Dutch businesses. Chris Crane will remain as the company’s executive vice president of group business development.

“We have searched for a long time to find a company that would make a perfect partner for Kewill. Our values are similar to TradePoint’s and our passion to become the major player in supply chain execution has been significantly accelerated through this acquisition,” said Paul Nichols, Kewill’s chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “I have been impressed by the caliber of people at TradePoint and would like to assure you that we will take every measure necessary to ensure that they remain with the company and continue to provide our customers with quality products and services.”

Kewill, which has been in business since 1972, is based in Staines, United Kingdom, and has offices in England, the U.S., Spain and Germany. In the U.S., Kewill has its major operations in Marlborough, Mass. and Chicago, Ill. With the acquisition of TradePoint, the company now has 356 employees.

TradePoint is located at 44 Franklin St., where about 85 of its 100 workers are located.

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