Abstract Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to exemplify and discuss the potential in strategic maintenance development. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is based on a three-year industrial case study, conducted in three different companies within manufacturing industry. Findings - All three companies have showed substantial improvements in the chosen maintenance related KPIs. Further, the management has increased the insight on maintenance as a contributor to company competitiveness. Research limitations/implications - None of the companies has used any financial KPI for their strategic maintenance development. It would be of future interest to study the concept Cost of Poor Maintenance as an evaluation tool for strategic maintenance development. Practical implications - This study exemplifies the potential of strategic maintenance development in manufacturing industry. Originality/value - This paper shows the results from three years of formulation, implementation, and evaluation of maintenance strategies. Keywords Strategic maintenance development, Maintenance key performance indicators, Companies, Implementation, Maintenance Paper type Research paper