Industry Profile: Greg Johnson

Greg during travels to Alaska on a fishing boat featured in The Deadliest Catch.
Photo Credit: Greg Johnson

The valve industry, like any other, is made up of a collection of individuals from different walks of life and experiences. Industrial valves have been around for thousands of years but are still a product that the overwhelming majority of people do not consider in their daily lives. At Valve, we decided to share stories from our readers and contributors about who they are, what draws them to their work in the industry, and what advice they may have for others who want to explore a career in valves themselves. 

If you’ve ever been to a VMA event or participated in other organizations including the American Petroleum Institute, Manufacturers Standardization Society, or even the International Standards Organization, you may have met Greg Johnson — a member of the valve world professionally since 1978, when he joined the family business his father had started in 1961, United Valve. And while he’s been active in this industry for more than 40 years, we don’t see him slowing down any time soon. 

When he was planning for his career, Greg wasn’t interested in the family business, so he pursued a career in journalism and photojournalism. After a number of years, Greg eventually made his way to United Valve in 1978, and returned to school to study engineering in 1985. Once he was in the industry, he continued his constant search for knowledge and began to get involved in industry associations and organizations such as VMA and MSS. In fact, Greg has been a member of the API and the MSS for 30 years, which is how he says he stays abreast of changes in technology and across the valve industry. He’s also a member of the Valve Editorial Advisory Board.

When it comes to emerging trends and technologies, Greg sees a couple of things on the horizon. “One of the biggest challenges for valve manufacturers and end users today is to deal with and respond to the fast-moving changes in the industry and the shift to alternative energy sources.” Among these emerging trends, he’s particularly excited about more uses of hydrogen as a fuel source, as well as carbon capture and sequestration, and is a part of a number of industry standards committees right now working on updates for hydrogen service.

With his background, Greg wanted to find a way to use his unique perspective and skills to give back, which is how we got more involved with the VMA. As part of the editorial advisory board, Greg regularly reviews technical content and is the first phone call or email if our editors have a technical question or want to verify or validate information. He’s been instrumental in helping update and revise the Valve Basics content both for the magazine and for in-person and online training sessions, updating decades-old content and creating new content for the program regularly.

When asked what advice he’d give to someone new to the valve industry, Greg says: “Find a specific segment or the industry or niche area and learn all you can about that one segment first.” Greg also says that the biggest piece of advice he got that stuck with him was this: “Do things the right way. Your reputation will always stay with you.”

In his spare time, Greg finds lots of ways to keep busy. Currently, he is working to finalize a passion project that he’s been tackling for several years. “I’ve been working on my history of the U.S. valve industry book for several years, and I’m down to the last 2-3 chapters.” He’s also a musician. “I’ve been a musician for decades, playing drums and harmonica. I’m also a model railroader and my wife and I love to travel!”

Greg has been active in establishing and updating standards for the valve industry for many years. Among his accomplishments are the following:

• Member of Manufacturers Standardization Society (MSS) since 1997
• Member of American Petroleum Institute (API), Subcommittee on Piping & Valves (SCOPV) since 1990
• Past Chairman of the API SCOPV Manufacturers Committee
• Past Chairman of API workgroups
• Past Chairman of MSS workgroups
• Past President of MSS
• Board member of MSS since 2008
• Past participant in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) valve standards activities
• Current API Coordinating Committee Chairman
• Current member of MSS committees: Steel Valves, Quality Standards, Valve Modification and Marking & Terminology