are important for

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

[color=indigo]1-Our maintenance employees are very important for keeping everything in working condition at our factory.

Can’t this sentence have two meanings:
[color=red]a-Our maintenance employees are very important for the purpose of keeping everything in working condition at our factory.
[color=blue]b-Our maintenance employees are very important because they keep everything in working condition at our factory.

Gratefully and wishing you a happy new year!
Navi.

2

I don’t see a significant difference in the meanings you attribute to the sentence.