The International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration will host its largest-ever Natural Refrigeration Conference & Expo from March 15 – 18, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas—featuring a packed exhibit hall, approximately 30 educational sessions, including technical papers, white papers, workshops and panels as well as educational programming for students and end users.

Rym Omniewski, IIAR’s Meetings, Conference & Expo Coordinator, said three new factors, introduced this year, are attracting interest from the event’s exhibitors and attendees. First, IIAR’s NRF Lounge will include a sponsored recruiting station in 2026, where recruiting companies will be connected directly to individuals looking for jobs. Also new this year, IIAR’s education program session schedule will see an expansion to two morning sessions and one in the afternoon, for both Monday and Tuesday, with committee meetings scheduled for Sunday.

Meanwhile, social opportunities like the NRF Lounge will see an expansion with new games and activities, while IIAR’s Monday night social event features a live Rodeo at the Pedrotti’s Ranch.

The exhibit hall continues to be a major draw for IIAR attendees and exhibitors alike, said Omniewski. “We hear from exhibiting companies that they generate dozens of high-quality leads and make successful partnerships during exhibitor hours – and during the social activities that we have planned, like our golf and Monday night events.”

“One of the things that makes this meeting valuable to everyone is that we have so many opportunities to network and meet with each other,” she said. “People come ready to talk business, to talk solutions, to hire the next generation of talent. Our exhibiting companies see firsthand how valuable it is to meet face to face.”

General registration for IIAR’s 2026 Conference & Expo will open in November, but IIAR exhibit space is filling up quickly and sponsor opportunities are still available, said Omniewski, adding that interest in exhibit and sponsorship opportunities, as well as attendance, has ballooned in recent years.

“The growth over the past couple of years has been strong,” she said. “We consistently grow members and exhibitors for this event. Since 2022, general registration has jumped by over 500 attendees, and this year our exhibit space has sold faster than ever.” Omniewski attributes the growth to the “need to meet up in person to really, effectively, conduct business,” a need she says IIAR has responded to by expanding exhibitor capacity – up to 158 exhibitor spaces available in 2025, from 122 in 2022.

IIAR president Gary Schrift agreed with Omniewski that IIAR’s event has become the standard place to network and grow business. “We’ve increased the number of educational sessions, expanded our exhibit hall, and created new tracks to meet the needs of both seasoned professionals and newcomers,” said Gary Schrift, IIAR president. “This year’s conference is bigger and more inclusive than ever.”

One of the more popular networking events, the IIAR exhibitor product showcase, which allows exhibitors to show off new products and services during dedicated presentation time on the exhibit hall floor, has grown in recent years, said Omniewski.

“These product showcase slots have been sold very quickly,” she said. “It makes sense because people who are interested in your equipment or services are already there in the exhibit hall, looking to make a decision. There’s a high attendance for those showcases.” The exhibitor product showcases will be scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and during extended exhibit hall hours in 2026.

In general, the IIAR conference is well worth the effort to attend because nothing replaces the kind of conversations you can have on the exhibit hall floor, said Omniewski. ”The facetime with engineers, policy makers, students, and colleagues is invaluable.”

Exhibiting with IIAR includes two full conference registrations for every 100 square feet of exhibit space reserved, and includes a company listing in the online and print conference guide as well as the conference app. But the most popular exhibitor benefit remains the attendee list, which exhibitors get two to three weeks before the conference.

“The attendee list is really a priority for our exhibitor because a presence at IIAR is not just about brand awareness, but it’s a real return on investment as well,” said Omniewski.

Part of that return on investment is an investment in the next generation of workers in refrigeration, a responsibility IIAR has taken even more seriously this year with an expansion of the NRF lounge and the addition of a networking event for the conference’s growing population of students and companies looking to employ them.

“This year we’ll have an even more fun NRF lounge with different gaming spaces,” said Omniewski. “And the new NRF networking event is really exciting. Companies that are hiring will have a presence in the NRF lounge where people who are interested in looking for a job can get information about the companies that are hiring – and then go to the exhibit hall floor and, in many cases, talk to the hiring manager.”

Meanwhile, for attendees, the 2026 conference will blend technical depth with strategic networking, offering attendees a chance to shape the future of natural refrigerants through committee work, peer exchange, and direct engagement with industry leaders.

IIAR’s 2026 educational program will span six distinct tracks: system design, system safety, decarbonization, facility management, heat pumps, and refrigeration fundamentals. The latter, dubbed “Refrigeration 101,” is designed to support students and early-career professionals.

Technical papers and workshops will cover safety, efficiency, and emerging technologies. All sessions will offer professional development hours and be recorded for on-demand access throughout the year.

“You can attend sessions live and revisit others later,” said Yesenia Rector, IIAR’s director of meetings and international programs. “Recordings will be free for all members and attendees.”

The conference will open with the Natural Refrigeration Foundation’s (NRF) Golf Tournament on Saturday, March 14, followed by IIAR committee meetings on Sunday.

Networking events will include the Chairman’s Reception, a VIP dinner for board and committee members along with other VIPS and the Monday night social event and the exhibitors reception on Tuesday evening in the exhibit hall. The NRF Networking Lounge will offer a quiet space for conversation, coffee, and collaboration near the technical program rooms. “The lounge is a place to recharge between
sessions or meet with colleagues,” Rector added.

IIAR will continue its commitment to student engagement by offering free registration to university and technical college students, including NRF scholarship recipients, IIAR said. Students will have full access to the conference and be paired with mentors to help navigate the exhibit hall and technical sessions. First-time attendees and end users will also receive discounted registration at IIAR member rates, regardless of membership status.

Committee meetings on Sunday will provide IIAR members with updates on ongoing initiatives and opportunities to contribute to the organization’s technical and policy work. To encourage broader participation, meeting times have been shortened to one or two hours.

With expanded education, strategic networking, and inclusive programming, IIAR’s 2026 Annual Conference & Expo promises a dynamic experience for engineers, end users, policymakers, and students alike. To view the full schedule and register, visit IIAR’s official conference website.