Hussmann is bringing back its Evolve Experience Roadshow for 2026, sending its 53-foot mobile innovation showroom across North America to help food retailers plan refrigeration investments amid a shifting regulatory setting. The tour returns at a time when refrigerant planning has grown more complicated for retailers. Federal refrigerant regulations moved again this year, with the EPA releasing a revised Technology Transitions Rule and reconsidering its Refrigerant Management Rule in May, leaving many operators re-evaluating equipment strategies, compliance timelines and capital plans.
Complex Regulations Impact Equipment Strategy
The St. Louis-based manufacturer, a Panasonic company, said the traveling education and training experience combines hands-on equipment demonstrations with expert-led discussions covering sustainable refrigeration technologies, regulatory changes and best practices for planning future investments. The 2026 tour showcases Hussmann’s Evolve Technologies portfolio of low-global warming potential solutions featuring CO2, R-290 and A2L refrigerants. Visitors can explore equipment firsthand while learning about system design, installation considerations, service requirements and regulatory compliance.
Officials stated that the mobile showroom features the company’s merchandising innovations, Aperion digital solutions, StoreConnect connected-store technologies and service, maintenance and performance parts programs. One-on-one conversations are built around each retailer’s specific stores and priorities. The Shelby Report delivers complete grocery news and supermarket insights nationwide through the distribution of five monthly regional print and digital editions. Serving the retail food trade since 1967, the publication focuses on the economics of the supermarket industry.
From pandemic pivot to permanent program
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The roadshow began as a way for Hussmann to stay connected with retailers when trade shows and live events were canceled during the pandemic. It has since grown into a recurring mobile training program that has traveled thousands of miles across North America.
For the retailers attending, the shift from temporary pandemic relief to a permanent fixture in the industry calendar suggests a deeper commitment from the manufacturer to address the ongoing complexity of compliance. When a company moves a program from a stopgap measure to a scheduled annual event, it signals that the underlying challenges—whether regulatory or technological—are not temporary speed bumps but long-term structural changes to the market.
Historical Context and Industry Reach
Hussmann has manufactured commercial refrigeration equipment for more than a century and provides display merchandisers, refrigeration systems, installation and services to food retailers, backed by a nationwide network of technicians.
Retailers interested in upcoming stops or scheduling a visit can contact Hussmann through the roadshow page at hussmann.com.
