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Schweitzer Engineering recognized as top Washington employer by business group

Edmund Schweitzer, a second-generation electrical engineer and inventor, who runs Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman, is photographed April 19, 2016. Schweitzer’s signature appeared along with those of many other influential business owners in an open letter Monday, Jan. 15, 2017, urging Congress to extend Obama-era protections for so-called dreamers. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
The Spokesman-Review

The Association of Washington Business named Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories as its employer of the year during a Wednesday ceremony in Seattle.

The award recognized companies for innovative job retention, benefits and compensation that foster a thriving work environment.

The Pullman-based company designs and builds digital products that protect power systems around the world. Ed Schweitzer founded the company in 1982 in his basement, building devices that would interrupt electricity flowing through a utility’s power lines when there was a fault, and also pinpoint the fault. The company is completely employee owned.

Schweitzer Engineering employs more than 5,100 people, about half of whom work at its Pullman headquarters. The company also employs 70 people in its Spokane Valley office.

Schweitzer has had on-site, no-copay employee health clinics since 2012 that serve employees and their families.

The Association of Washington Business is the state’s largest and oldest business association. The award was presented during AWB’s second annual Evening of Excellence.