The Association of Washington Business last week gave three of 10 awards for workplace excellence to Spokane firms.

The awards sponsored by Davis Wright Tremaine LLC, a Seattle law firm, recognizes workplace safety, job training and advancement, and innovative benefit and compensation programs.

CTX Inc., the Spokane Valley maker of concrete railroad ties and other products, won the award for workplace safety among companies with 101 to 250 employees.

Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest was the innovative benefit and compensation winner for companies with fewer than 26 employees. Skils'kin won the same award for companies with more than 250 employees.   

Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency has named CXT Inc. as the 2011 Clean Air Award winner.

The award will be presented Thursday at an 11:30 a.m. ceremony at the Davenport Hotel.

The company makes precast concrete products, including railroad ties for major railways. It has two production plants in Spokane Valley, one of which produced concrete outdoor products, including concrete buildings.

CXT last year began a series of production changes to reduce emissions, a press release noted. The biggest was to replace most of its solvent-based paints with water-based paints, used at its concrete outdoor-products facility. The company also used a parts washer using a more environmentally friendly washing fluid, in place of traditional solvents.

The changes cut volatile organics emissions by nearly 50 percent. David Steiger, VP of CXT's Precast Buidlings, said the changes took place during the busiest year the production facilities have had.

Spokane Valley’s Fiber-Tech Industries earned the 2010 award  for reducing emissions at its production plant.