Mark your calendars for the Rack Manufacturers Institute’s second annual RMI Education Summit. The event will take place October 20–21, 2026, at MHI World Headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Building on the momentum of last year’s inaugural event, the 2026 RMI Education Summit will bring even more sessions, more speakers, and more room to connect. It also includes a new opportunity for engineering students to get their start in the material handling industry.
What’s New for 2026
Last year’s Summit proved just how much appetite there is in the rack safety community for focused, in-person learning. This year, the RMI Education Committee is expanding on that success with a bigger footprint and a refined program.
“The focus for the second year is a full two days,” said Jonathan Hirst, Vice President and General Manager at North American Storage Equipment Company (NASECO), a member of RMI. Hirst also serves as Co-Chair of the RMI Education Committee. “We are establishing a core stream of fundamentals which will, over time, build into a 101-level entry learning path. And then we try to bring in a variety of new speakers and new topics that are relevant to the industry with every successive Summit.”
That fundamentals track is one of three this year, up from two in 2025. Attendees can now choose between:
- Fundamentals: These are foundational sessions designed to repeat and grow year over year, giving newcomers a reliable entry point into rack design and safety concepts.
- Technical: In-the-weeds engineering content, including deep dives into newly released codes such as cantilever rack design.
- Non-Technical: Sessions geared toward salespeople, managers, and operations professionals who work alongside engineering, but aren’t necessarily running the calculations themselves.
With the expanded program comes expanded capacity. The Summit is growing to accommodate up to 100 attendees this year, Hirst reported. Further, the RMI Education Committee is adjusting the room layout to make sure popular sessions have the space they need.
The speaker lineup is still coming together and will be announced closer to the event.
Why Attend the RMI Education Summit
For Hirst, the value of the Summit comes down to something RMI’s regular member meetings can’t always offer: time.
“The RMI Education Summit offers an opportunity for people in this industry to have extra time to dig deeper into some of the specialized engineering applications of material handling,” Hirst said. “These are learning sessions with dialogue and questions encouraged by the presenters.”
Unlike RMI’s fall and spring member meetings, which have limited attendance, the Summit is open to employees of all RMI member companies. Additionally, the schedule is built around keeping people together.
“We’re all in the morning sessions, and then we’re all having lunch, and then we’re attending afternoon sessions, and finally all joining for dinner together,” Hirst said. “There’s a lot of opportunity to collaborate and network and ask questions. That’s really what those two days are for—a lot of face time with the people in the industry.”
Those relationships tend to outlast the event itself, he added, often turning into ongoing dialogue and new volunteers for RMI committees and standards updates.
Registration and Logistics
Registration is now open via mhi.org/rmi-education-summit, with a special early-bird rate for the first registrant from a company. Additional attendees from the same organization can register at a discounted rate. Rates increase after the early-bird period closes. There will also be a special discounted rate for students, noted Hirst.
The Summit will once again be held at MHI’s Charlotte headquarters, with discounted room rates available at the Drury Hotel. An off-site networking dinner is planned for the evening of the first day.
Visit the event’s page in the coming weeks for full registration details and the complete speaker lineup.
New This Year: Scholarships for Engineering Students
Perhaps the biggest news for 2026 is RMI’s first-ever Education Summit scholarship program. The funds aim to help introduce the next generation of engineers to the rack industry.
“The big news is that RMI has pledged $10,000 event-specific scholarships to introduce students to opportunities in the rack industry,” Hirst said. To help defray the costs of attending the Education Summit, RMI is offering ten scholarships to engineering students planning to pursue careers in material handling:
- Five full event scholarships of $1,500, covering registration, travel, meals, and hotel expenses.
- Five partial event scholarships of $500, covering registration.
“We want to provide structural and civil engineering students in particular with an opportunity to learn more about the rack industry,” Hirst explained. “They may not be aware that their skills are essential to supply chain and material handling operations.”
RMI is sending sponsorship information directly to members and to universities, encouraging professors to nominate qualified students. Hirst says the focus is particularly on graduate students or fourth-year undergraduates whose class schedules leave more room to travel.
If the scholarship pilot program succeeds, Hirst said RMI plans to open the application process earlier in future years to give students more lead time to apply. Students and educators interested in learning more should watch RMI’s website for scholarship details. Alternately they can reach out through their institution if RMI has already connected with their program.
Multiple Educational Resources Offered by RMI
RMI develops and publishes several American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards covering the design, testing, and utilization of industrial storage rack. The group also provides additional resources to support safer rack system design and use. These include presentations, a glossary, case studies, and FAQs. Visit mhi.org/rmi for more information.
