The Natural Refrigeration

IIAR’s annual conference will deliver a tech-heavy program this year, featuring two auxiliary training and certification programs from the Refrigerating Engineers & Technician’s Association, RETA, and the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council, NASRC, as well as thirty-one sessions comprising six educational tracks and expanded exhibit hall hours.

IIAR’s annual conference will deliver a tech-heavy program this year, featuring two auxiliary training and certification programs from the Refrigerating Engineers & Technician’s Association, RETA, and the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council, NASRC, as well as thirty-one sessions comprising six educational tracks and expanded exhibit hall hours.

The conference is set to take place March 15 – 18 in San Antonio, Texas, and will debut this year the first schedule format change IIAR has made since the organization began holding conferences in 1979.

“This is a significant change for us because up to now our conference has never changed the schedule format,” said Yesenia Rector, IIAR’s Vice President – Education, Outreach and Events. “We wanted to integrate what’s happening in the exhibit hall with what’s happening with our educational program.” The biggest change, said Rector, is that exhibit hall hours are intercalated with education program sessions.

The biggest change to this year’s conference schedule is the full integration of exhibit hall hours with education sessions. On both Monday and Tuesday, education blocks and exhibit hall hours alternate throughout the day, with Tuesday opening in the exhibit hall instead of the business meeting. Each education block includes five to six concurrent sessions, delivering a program that allows attendees to immediately connect what they learn with solutions on the exhibit floor.

“This [change] has really improved the flow and made our conference more dynamic and more balanced because the educational program is more incorporated in the rhythm of all the events. The educational program and exhibit hall hours will work together in a more integral way, and I think attendees this year will find that the two are more complementary of each other,” said Rector.

Rym Omniewski, IIAR’s Conference, Meeting and Expo Coordinator said the 2026 conference will include the largest expo floor occupied so far by IIAR, at 30,300 square feet. Meanwhile, conference attendance is on track to reach nearly two thousand attendees, up from around a thousand attendees in 2022.

Rector attributed the success of IIAR’s exhibit sponsorships to the continued process of feedback that IIAR asks for and gets back from its longtime partners.

“The schedule changes this year were made in direct response to feedback from long-time exhibitors who asked for stronger integration between education and the exhibition,” said Rector, adding that this and other adjustments “help us fine-tune as needed to create a better experience for both attendees and exhibitors.”

In addition to IIAR’s educational program, 2026 will mark the second year that RETA will be offering its Certified Refrigeration Service Technician, CRST, training prior to the start of the IIAR conference. The training will be delivered over three days, Friday through Sunday. IIAR has also partnered with NASRC for the first time to offer a full day of training on CO2 refrigeration systems on Tuesday. Both training programs require an additional registration by March 1 and have limited capacity that is filling quickly, said Rector. Attendees can register for RETA training here and NASRC training here.

Also for the second time this year, the Natural Refrigeration Foundation will host a lounge area where meeting space will be available and NRF’s scholarship program and new Legacy 100 fundraising initiative will be showcased.

This dedicated space gives university and technical college students the chance to learn about the industry and meet individually with exhibitors to explore career paths, said Omniewski. Students are always welcome at the conference, but having a specific space designed for them allows them to hear directly from industry leaders, see equipment up close, and connect with potential employers— benefiting students, employers and the industry overall.

“The lounge is an area where you can come and meet with the NRF scholars, or just learn more about what NRF is doing,” said Rector, adding that it is also open as a drop-in workspace that attendees can use to take a break or catch up on in-person meetings during educational program sessions.

NRF Scholarship recipients are invited to attend the full event and will have the chance to meet the IIAR executive team, the NRF Board and Trustees, and exhibitor hosts who will guide them through the expo floor and introduce them to industry partners and experienced professionals.

Before the official start of the conference, committee meetings—where much of the association’s detailed work takes place—will be held on Sunday along with a dinner event to recognize committee chairs, members, board members and international partners who dedicate their time and expertise to advancing IIAR’s mission.

Meanwhile, this year’s social event for all members, at Pedrotti’s Ranch, promises to be one of the most fun in recent years, said Rector.

“I’m really looking forward to the Monday night social event,” said Rector. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll start with a rodeo show, there are areas with music, and the indoor-outdoor venue will have plenty of places to enjoy the festivities or find a quiet space.”

The full schedule and additional conference details are available at www. iiar.org.