Ruben Alvarez Says Efficiency, Safety, Sustainability Are Central to John Crane’s Mission

Ruben Alvarez, new CEO of John Crane, outlines the company's strategic focus on maintaining mission-critical operations for customers while adapting to the evolving energy landscape. He emphasizes a commitment to both core product evolution and the acceleration of technologies that support decarbonization and energy efficiency.

Q: As CEO of John Crane, what are your top priorities for the business?

Alvarez: At John Crane, our purpose is clear: to keep mission-critical operations running efficiently, safely, and sustainably for our customers. My focus is on strengthening our role as a trusted partner in the energy and process industries, helping our customers address today’s most urgent challenges while preparing for the future. That means continuing to evolve our core product portfolio, investing in service innovation, and accelerating technologies that support decarbonization and energy efficiency. We’re equally committed to advancing sustainability in our operations—from reducing emissions in our facilities to embedding circularity into how we design and deliver solutions. Our people are central to this journey; we are proud of the expertise of our teams worldwide and continue to invest in their development and safety.

Q: What trends are currently shaping the turbomachinery and rotating equipment sectors?

Alvarez: The sector is undergoing rapid transformation. Customers face increasing pressure to improve equipment performance, reduce operating costs, and meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations. As a result, we see higher demand for condition-based and predictive maintenance, especially in high-performance rotating equipment. In fact, the global industrial maintenance market was valued at approximately $57.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to over $102 billion by 2034, reflecting a strong compound annual growth rate of 5.9%. Even more remarkable is the rapid growth of predictive maintenance, which analysts estimate is expanding by around 35% annually and is valued between $8 and $11 billion. At John Crane, we support this shift with advanced technologies like dry gas seals, advanced filtration, and our Sense digital diagnostics platform, providing real-time performance monitoring and actionable insights to reduce downtime and enhance reliability.

Q: How does John Crane integrate environmental responsibility into its business and technology development?

Alvarez: Sustainability is not just a priority—it’s embedded in our strategy. We focus on two areas: reducing our environmental footprint and helping our customers do the same. Across our operations, we invest in energy efficiency, circular design, and lower-emission manufacturing practices, including solar installations and recycling programs. But our biggest impact comes from the solutions we offer. Our sealing, filtration, and digital monitoring technologies are designed to help customers lower energy and water use, reduce fugitive emissions, and extend equipment lifespan. We actively participate in emerging low-carbon technologies, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), providing engineered sealing and filtration solutions capable of handling the demanding conditions of CO₂ compression and transportation. We also support advancements in hydrogen applications, assisting industries in decarbonizing while maintaining reliability and efficiency.

As part of Smiths Group, we share a clear mission: to engineer a better future for our customers, shareholders, and people—a safer, more efficient, and more sustainable world. We fulfill this promise daily through our operations and the technologies we bring to market.

Q: Looking further ahead, how do you see the role of industrial maintenance and monitoring evolving in the coming years?

Alvarez: Maintenance is increasingly recognized as a strategic lever, not just for uptime but for sustainability and competitiveness. We’re moving beyond reactive and preventive models toward intelligent, predictive maintenance. This enables operators to make data-driven decisions that reduce unplanned outages, improve energy efficiency, and extend asset life. Our customers are already using John Crane’s Sense platform to enable this, and interest in integrating AI and machine learning to improve diagnostics is growing. Advanced maintenance will be critical to the global shift toward cleaner, more efficient industrial operations.

Q: Tell us more about the partnership with Franco Tosi Meccanica and its significance.

Alvarez: The partnership with Franco Tosi Meccanica exemplifies how collaboration drives progress in next-generation energy technologies. Together, we support a pilot project focused on supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) power cycles, which aim for higher efficiency and lower emissions in power generation. Our role is to provide engineered sealing solutions capable of reliable operation in these extreme conditions. This reflects our ability to support both legacy systems and pioneering applications as the energy landscape evolves.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight about John Crane or the industry as a whole?

Alvarez: John Crane has a longstanding legacy of engineering excellence, built over more than a century, supporting mission-critical operations worldwide. While we are deeply invested in the future of energy—advancing technologies like hydrogen and CCUS—we remain just as committed to helping traditional industries become more efficient, resilient, and sustainable, with safer operating environments. Decarbonization isn’t just about new energy sources. It also involves optimizing existing infrastructure, where we make a significant impact. Our technologies help customers improve plant efficiency, boost reliability, and reduce emissions, without major overhauls. Whether through advanced sealing, filtration, or digital monitoring, we enable operators to maximize asset performance with less environmental impact.

As the energy landscape shifts, we’re proud to be a trusted partner, bridging today’s needs with tomorrow’s potential. Through collaboration, innovation, and a clear focus on customer outcomes, we are helping shape the future. a more sustainable industrial future.