NEW YORK — Brady Plc has acquired software provider Systems Alternatives International LLC (SAI) for $6.5 million, according to Brady’s top executive.

Maumee, Ohio-based SAI specializes in providing software to the recycling industry, an applications arena Brady lacked ready knowledge of internally but wanted to enter, according to chief executive officer Gavin Lavelle.

Cambridge, U.K.-based Brady provides transaction and risk-management applications that help producers, consumers, financial institutions and trading companies manage commodity transactions.

“Brady specializes in metals, and I think recycling is the perfect adjunct to that,” Lavelle told AMM. The move is also aimed at “strengthening our position in North America,” Lavelle said.

The SAI team will remain with the company under current president John Underwood after the acquisition, Lavelle said.

SAI’s software systems allow clients to procure and sell scrap; the company already counts six of the top 10 recyclers in the United States among its clients, according to Lavelle.

Brady’s client base includes more than 150 companies, including Xstrata Plc, Norsk Hydro ASA, Koch Supply & Trading LP and Rio Tinto Plc’s Alcan Engineered Products.