Washington ? The Army entered negotiations with an armor manufacturer Friday in an effort to accelerate production of armored versions of the Humvee to get them to the troops more quickly, Army and company officials said.

Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey spoke with officials at Armor Holdings, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla., who told him Friday they could increase production by up to 100 vehicles a month.

Army officials had previously believed the factory was working at capacity until the company told the news media Thursday that it could make more. Democrats immediately criticized the Bush administration for not boosting production sooner.

Still, company officials said the Armor Holdings plant was not immediately capable of boosting output. Armor Holdings said in a statement Friday that it could increase its rate of production by February or March.

“During the interim period, we will continue to build as many vehicles as possible, as we have done to date. In fact, we are currently ahead of the Army’s production schedule by more than 330 total vehicles,” the statement said.

In addition, the Army would also have to go to Congress for additional funding if Armor Holdings sought more money.

The Army has ordered 8,105 of the armored Humvees, and 5,910 are in Iraq, Afghanistan and nearby nations.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfield, responding to a soldier’s complaint about not enough armored vehicles for the troops, said Wednesday the Army was working to produce more armored vehicles, but it was “a matter of physics, not a matter of money,” suggesting that production lines at operating at capacity.

But Armor Holdings spokesman Michael Fox said Thursday that the company recently completed an analysis after the Marines inquired about buying 50 to 100 armored vehicles each month.

“We determined it was doable,” Fox said.