Lektro Inc. makes tugs that eliminate the need for towbars by raising the nose gear in a cradle.

But the military requires towbars for its tugs, so the Warrenton-based company has been unable to sell to the U.S. Air Force.

Lektro and Wu have found a way around that ban with funding for a tug that operates with a hydrogen fuel cell to help reduce pollution, making them eligible under pollution laws.

 
The company now plans to ship two Lektro tugs to the Department of Defense in Johnston, Pa., as part of a $1 million federal pollution prevention program.

"Wu made it easier to just appropriate funds through Congress than to try changing the regulations of the Air Force," said Lektro President Eric Paulson.

Wu and Paulson are seeking another $1 million in federal funding to put more Lektros on U.S. military bases. "That ban hasn't gone away yet," Paulson said. "This exercise here is kind of like going through the back door."

Various models of the Lektro tugs have been sold to the military in other countries, including Canada, Finland, Belgium, Korea and Switzerland. Other Lektros have gone to companies in Japan, China, Russia and the Middle East, but the U.S. military is a new frontier.

"It's taken a long time, but now we have our foot in the door, and we hope it will continue to open," Paulson said.

Lektro has expanded its Warrenton facility and added about 25 jobs since 2004. The company now employs 65 to 70 people, with 10 new employees joining the staff this year.

Wu compared Lektro's growth to Paulson's dog, Sebastian, joking that he "has never gotten smaller."