Founded in 1958, the Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) is an MHI Industry Group and the leading racking industry association. Currently comprised of 38 members who are the industry’s top suppliers of industrial steel storage racks and related structural systems, RMI is the foremost authority on pallet rack and rack decking. Its leadership recently debuted a new logo and fresh branding to celebrate its 65^th anniversary of promoting rack safety.

The new logo retains RMI’s classic black and orange color palette. It features a Serif typeface whose small, horizontal strokes evoke the anchor plates on a racking system. The new logo also incorporates a line through the center of the lettering, representing a rack beam.

New RMI Logo Honors Past, Celebrates Future

“RMI has a long-established 65-year history in the industry, and it was important to the group to honor our original logo while giving a nod to the future for our new look and branding,” said Paul Neal, RMI President and UNARCO Material Handling President and CEO. “We wanted to provide a fresh take on the widely recognized black and orange logo, which end users have trusted with confidence for decades. The RMI logo signifies that their project adheres to the highest engineering and design standards.”

“The timing for a style evolution for RMI couldn’t be better. It coincides with an industry push to integrate a variety of automation and technologies into existing facilities and rack structures, as well as into new ones,” stated Jonathan Hirst, RMI Marketing Chair and the Vice President and General Manager of North American Storage Equipment. “Rack has evolved to meet the needs of the industry. RMI’s leadership wanted its branding to strongly reflect that.”

Three Different Rack Manufacturers Institute Memberships

Along with its new logo, the Rack Manufacturers Institute formally delineated three different membership levels. A small tag on the logo provided to the member for display identifies their membership type.

Executive Members manufacture and control the structural design and manufacture of industrial steel storage rack. Executive Members can participate in all RMI membership activities.

General Members manufacture and control the structural design and manufacture of industrial steel storage rack. General Members have limited participation in RMI membership activities.

Associate Members include manufacturers of structures or structural components of the following types: Portable Racks designed to stack, Pallet Stacking Frames, or Structural Rack Decking. Other Associate Members also include manufacturers of rack repair and safety components for industrial steel storage rack. These members have limited participation in RMI membership activities.

RMI Logo Part of Larger Rebranding Effort

The Rack Manufacturers Institute is currently populating the new logo throughout the organization’s digital and print platforms. Some of the new elements of the RMI website include the newly minted logo, a refreshed rack and decking infographic, and a fresh look for rmiracksafey.org. The blog newsletter also received a revised design. Readers can subscribe for free updates at rmiracksafety.org/newsletter-signup.

Additionally the updated branding appears in the recently revised R-Mark Certification program. In addition to a fresh, updated look, that program also recently debuted expanded parameters and revised requirements. The new R-Mark logo stamp will be appearing on members’ websites in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Finally, the new logo also coincides with updates to several of the Rack Manufacturers Institute’s key safety publications. Receiving revisions in 2023 are:

• ANSI MH16.1: Design, Testing, and Utilization of Industrial Steel Storage Racks
• ANSI MH26.2: Design, Testing, and Utilization of Industrial Storage Rack Decking
• Considerations for the Planning and Use of Industrial Steel Storage Racks
• Guideline for the Assessment and Repair or Replacement of Damaged Rack

The standards and guideline documents are available for purchase via mhi.org/rmi.

Access More Rack Safety Information

In addition to the resources outlined above, the Rack Manufacturers Institute offers a broad range of additional materials detailing best practices to enhance pallet rack safety. This includes a series of videos, presentations, publications, case studies, frequently asked questions, and an MHI Cast podcast recording about rack safety.