Ash Grove Cement Company’s Midlothian, Texas cement plant earned the "Working for Cleaner Air Employer of the Year" award from the North Texas Clean Air Coalition (NTCAC).

The North Texas Clean Air Coalition announced that Ash Grove received the top 2008 award for North Texas companies with less than 500 employees at events with civic and business leaders in Dallas and Fort Worth.

Ash Grove’s Midlothian plant is the first Texas cement manufacturer recognised in the five-year history of the program and received the award for the company’s successful efforts to control nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Ash Grove’s Midlothian facility was one of the first wet process cement plants in the world to install Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) technology to successfully control ozone forming emissions.

"We are quite pleased to be the only cement manufacturer to earn the North Texas Clean Air Coalition’s ’Working for Cleaner Air Employer of the Year 2008’ award," said Ash Grove Chairman and CEO Charlie Sunderland. "This award validates our strong environmental commitment and acknowledges our success in improving air quality in the Dallas-Ft. Worth region."

Ash Grove adopted several other education initiatives with its Midlothian workforce to help further reduce energy use and improve the environment. For example, Ash Grove offered incentives to employees who commute to work, implemented new policies to reduce time spent driving to and from work and put new energy conservation measures in place in partnership with the local utility provider. Ash Grove is an active and visible part of the NTCAC’s volunteer leadership through the company’s participation in the business community outreach committee.