TDFP EXCLUSIVE: Swedish-Owned Maker of Runway Arresting Gear Hires Former Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd to Lobby on Defense Procurement
ATECH Inc., a Huntsville, Alabama, company that makes the systems that stop military jets on runways, has hired a lobbying team that includes Stephen Boyd, a former Senate-confirmed assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, according to a federal lobbying registration posted Oct. 23.
The registration, filed by Huntsville-based Horizons Global Solutions LLC, lists "defense procurement and sustainment" as the issue ATECH wants to lobby on. It took effect Oct. 7, 2026.
The filing also discloses that ATECH is 100% owned by a foreign company, Scandinavian Manufacturing SCAMA AB of Vaderstad, Sweden.
The ATECH Lobbying Team
The registration names two lobbyists, Boyd and Julie Lasseter. Boyd's past government positions are listed as "Assistant Attorney General at Department of Justice" and former congressional aide in the House and Senate. Lasseter is listed as a former House and Senate aide who also held a Schedule C political appointment at the Department of Defense.
Boyd served as assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legislative Affairs from 2017 to 2021, after being confirmed by the Senate in August 2017, according to his Wikipedia biography. In that job he handled the department's dealings with Congress. He later served as chief of staff to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and was earlier chief of staff to former Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala.
Horizons Global Solutions describes Boyd on its website as a former Senate-confirmed assistant attorney general and former chief of staff in the Senate and House. The McCrary Institute at Auburn University lists him as a partner at the firm, which it describes as a bipartisan government relations consultancy for defense, technology and other companies. LegiStorm lists him as a Horizons lobbyist since 2022.
Lobbying registrations do not have to state how much a client will pay. The firm's first quarterly report on its work for ATECH will show income and contacts in more detail.
What ATECH Makes
ATECH, founded in 2005, sells aircraft arresting systems, spare parts and repair services, according to its website. Its products include the BAK-12, which the company describes as the current U.S. Air Force standard. The systems use cables or nets stretched across a runway to catch and stop fighter jets during emergency landings or aborted takeoffs.
The client description on the registration reads "Aircraft safety." The filing lists ATECH's address on Electronics Boulevard in Huntsville.
ATECH has lobbied the federal government only once before, according to Senate and House lobbying records. The firm CarterMcClean registered to represent it in April 2015 and filed a termination report that October.
Foreign Ownership Disclosed
The registration lists SCAMA AB as a foreign entity that owns 100% of ATECH. ATECH's website says it works "together with parent company SCAMA, based in Sweden," which it says was founded in 1972 and specializes in arresting military aircraft.
Companies with foreign parents can lobby under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which requires them to list foreign entities that own or control the client. A search of Justice Department Foreign Agents Registration Act records through Oct. 22 found no registration for ATECH or SCAMA.
Images: U.S. Air Force photos by Senior Airman Nicole Sikorski, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: LD-1 registration, Horizons Global Solutions LLC for ATECH Inc., posted Oct. 23, 2026: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/5927849b-31f6-492c-ae81-d1e6a4dcd6f3/print/ ; LDA filings for client ATECH (CarterMcClean 2015 registration and termination): https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/?client_name=ATECH ; ATECH Inc., About Us: https://atecharrestors.com/about-us/ ; ATECH Inc., BAK-12: https://atecharrestors.com/bak-12/ ; Horizons Global Solutions, About: https://www.horizonsglobalsolutions.com/about ; McCrary Institute, Stephen Boyd bio: https://mccraryinstitute.com/bio/stephen-boyd/ ; LegiStorm, Stephen Elliott Boyd: https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/6694/Stephen_Elliott_Boyd.html ; Wikipedia, Stephen Boyd (attorney): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Boyd_(attorney) ; U.S. Department of Justice, Former Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd: https://www.justice.gov/archives/ola/staff-profile/former-assistant-attorney-general-stephen-e-boyd ; FARA bulk data, Justice Department: https://efile.fara.gov/ords/fara/f?p=API:BULKDATA
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