8:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST
Location: The Garden Event Center, 425 Lake Avenue South, Duluth, MN 55802
Our host hotel is Pier B Hotel in Duluth, Minnesota (800 W Railroad St, Duluth, MN 55802). On Wednesday, April 29, 2026, we will have full day of programming at The Garden Event Center (425 Lake Avenue South Duluth, MN 55802). Then on Thursday April 30, members will be bused to Hibbing, MN to visit L&M Radiator. The two-day conference will focus on extreme duty and severe duty cooling applications, a topic that continues to grow in importance across heavy-duty, off-highway, mining, and industrial markets. During the visit at L&M, attendees will get an up close look at how MESABI radiators are produced. Registration is now available, and we are including a special 10% discount (Use the Code NARSA10) if you are bringing 2 or more people from your company.
Hotel
Our host hotel is the Pier B Resort Hotel in Duluth, Minnesota (800 W Railroad St, Duluth, MN 55802).
Individual Guests can call the front desk 218-481-8888 to book in the 2026 NARSA Spring Conference room block or online at www.pierbresort.com and reference the Group Code 20262826.
(Enter dates needed and then click check availability. Then there will be a button that says group code - and you can enter the code to get the group block discount.)
Registration
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Meeting Venue: The Garden Event Center (425 Lake Avenue South Duluth, MN 55802)4:30 - 6:00 p.m. - Registration
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Rad Shop Roundtable
The Rad Shop Roundtable returns as one of the most interactive and valuable components of the NARSA Spring Conference. This peer-to-peer session brings shop owners, managers, and technicians together for open discussion around the real challenges facing radiator and heat exchanger businesses today. Topics may include repair strategies, workforce development, equipment investments, severe-duty applications, pricing pressures, supplier relationships, and operational best practices. The format is designed to encourage honest conversation, shared experience, and practical takeaways—not formal presentations. This session provides a unique opportunity to learn directly from fellow NARSA members who are facing the same technical and business challenges in their own operations.
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Supplier Circle
Debuting this year, the Supplier Circle is a focused forum designed to bring manufacturers and suppliers together for strategic conversation around the future of the cooling systems industry. This session will create space for suppliers to discuss market trends, product development priorities, channel challenges, customer expectations, and opportunities for collaboration. The goal is to strengthen alignment between manufacturers and the service network that supports severe and extreme duty cooling applications. The Supplier Circle is designed to foster transparency, innovation, and stronger industry partnerships in a collaborative setting.
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Networking Mixer
Programming
*Subject to change
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Meeting Venue: The Garden Event Center (425 Lake Avenue South Duluth, MN 55802)
7:30 a.m. - Shuttles will depart from Pier B Hotel (800 W Railroad St, Duluth, MN 55802) to The Garden (425 Lake Avenue South Duluth, MN 55802)
8:00 a.m. - Breakfast & Tabletops Begins
8:30 a.m. - Welcome & NARSA Updates, President Corey Roppel
9:00 a.m. - Programming Begins
Fireside Chat with Tim Denehy (L&M Radiator)
This fireside chat with Tim Denehy of Wabtec will explore the current and future landscape of severe and extreme duty cooling applications. The conversation will examine market outlook and long term direction, including the role of electrification and how companies and service providers can position themselves to break into this highly specialized segment. Tim will share how L&M Radiator & Wabtec defines severe duty cooling, which operating conditions place the greatest thermal stress on systems, and why certain applications push cooling solutions to their limits more than others.
The discussion will also focus on how recent updates are driving new cooling strategies and creating new engineering challenges. Tim will address the biggest cooling pain points his teams are focused on today and offer a manufacturer’s perspective on common repair and service issues seen in the field. The session will conclude with insights into what Mesabi and Wabtec look for in service partners and repair vendors, highlighting the knowledge, capabilities, and best practices needed to successfully support extreme duty cooling systems.
Panel Discussion: Engineering for Extreme/Severe Duty Applications
This panel discussion will examine how cooling system design must change when moving from standard heavy-duty use to severe and extreme-duty applications. Panelists will explore how sustained high loads, restricted airflow, vibration, contamination, and environmental extremes drive design criteria toward durability, higher heat rejection, reinforced structures, and reliability over cost or weight. Common failure modes, such as vibration-induced cracking, tube-to-header failures, fin blockage, corrosion, and thermal fatigue will be discussed, along with how maintainability and field serviceability are becoming essential design priorities in harsh and remote operating environments. Panelists will share insights on severe-duty repair strategies, including when re-coring versus replacement makes the most sense, the unique challenges of repairing extreme-duty cores, and the shop capabilities end users value most; technical expertise, quality workmanship, fast turnaround, and a deep understanding of real-world operating conditions.
Failure Autopsies: What Severe-Duty Cooling Components Teach Us After They Die
This session, led by Gary Dick of L&M Radiator, will take a deep, hands-on look at severe-duty cooling failures and what they reveal about real-world operating conditions. Using failed and damaged cooling components as teaching tools, the discussion will examine how and why radiators and heat exchangers fail in extreme environments. Attendees will gain insight into common failure patterns such as cracked headers, tube fatigue, fin erosion, contamination buildup, corrosion, and pressure-related damage, and how these issues often develop long before a catastrophic failure occurs.
The presentation will focus on connecting physical evidence to root causes, helping shops, engineers, and operators better understand whether failures stem from design limitations, operating conditions, maintenance practices, or repair decisions. Gary will also highlight how these “failure autopsies” can inform better product selection, improved repair strategies, and smarter design and service decisions for severe and extreme duty cooling applications.
Lunch
1:00 p.m. Programming Continues
Paint & Coatings Best Practices Presented by Carbit Paint & L&M Radiator
This session will provide a practical overview of paint and coating fundamentals for radiators and heat exchangers, focusing on methods that improve appearance, durability, and long-term performance. Designed for technicians and shop managers alike, the presentation will cover surface preparation techniques, proper cleaning and handling, and painting methods that help ensure consistent, professional results. Attendees will learn about the different types of paints and coatings commonly used on cooling system components, how to select the right product for various applications, and when priming is necessary versus when it can be avoided. The discussion will also include general best practices for repainting, addressing common mistakes that can affect adhesion, finish quality, and service life. While the session will apply to everyday radiator and heat exchanger work, it will also touch on how coating choices and preparation may differ in more demanding or severe operating environments, helping shops make informed decisions across a range of applications.
NARSA/IDEA Awards
5:00 p.m. - Cocktail Hour, Tabletop Exhibition & Dinner Reception
8:00 p.m. Shuttles will return attendees from The Garden back to Pier B Hotel
Thursday, April 30, 2026
L&M Radiator in Hibbing, MN
8:30 a.m. - Buses Departs from Pier B Hotel in Duluth to Hibbing, MN
Facility Tour: Inside the L&M Radiator Operation
This guided tour of the L&M Radiator facility will provide attendees with an inside look at one of the industry’s leading operations serving severe and extreme duty cooling applications. Participants will walk through the shop and manufacturing areas to see how large-scale radiators and heat exchangers are built, repaired, and tested for use in mining, rail, industrial, and other demanding environments.
The tour will highlight L&M’s processes, equipment, and quality controls, offering insight into how real-world failure data, engineering expertise, and hands-on craftsmanship come together to support mission-critical cooling systems. Attendees will see how complex repairs are executed, how severe-duty cores are evaluated and restored, and how workflow and shop layout are optimized for efficiency, safety, and reliability. This behind-the-scenes experience is designed to give practical takeaways that shops and technicians can apply in their own operations.
Hands-On Learning Experience: Inside the Mesabi Radiator System
This hands-on learning session will give attendees a rare opportunity to work directly with Mesabi radiators, gaining an up-close understanding of how they are engineered for severe and extreme duty cooling applications. Guided by industry experts, participants will disassemble Mesabi radiator assemblies to see firsthand how individual components are designed, how they function together, and why this modular approach performs so well in harsh operating environments.
The session will focus on practical, real-world learning, including tube construction, sealing methods, core design, and serviceability considerations. Attendees will explore how Mesabi radiators are built for durability, ease of maintenance, and rapid field repair, and how these design features translate into improved uptime for equipment operating in mining, rail, industrial, and other mission-critical applications. This interactive experience is designed for technicians, shop owners, and engineers who want a deeper, working knowledge of extreme-duty cooling systems they see in the field every day.
Lunch
Demonstrations Continue
3:30 p.m. - Buses Depart Hibbing back to Duluth, MN back to Pier B Hotel.
Sponsors
We want to thank the following companies for their support of the 2026 Spring Conference in Minnesota:Host:
Diamond Sponsor:
Gold Sponsors:
Silver Sponsors:
Bronze Sponsor:
Official Transportation Partner:
