Eleiko is a Swedish company that designs, manufactures and markets equipment for powerlifting, weightlifting and strength training.

Headquartered in Halmstad, Sweden, Eleiko products are available in 180 countries around the world. Eleiko ships 85 percent of its equipment overseas.

Eleiko, founded in 1928 is originally a manufacturer of electrical appliances such as waffle irons. The company produced its first barbell in 1957. In 1963, the company entered the international stage when Eleiko dumbbells were used at the World Weightlifting Championships in Stockholm. Eleiko barbells have set more than 1,000 world records since 1963. Over the years, the company has presented several groundbreaking innovations.

History

The first barbell

Eleiko was founded in 1928 in Halmstad, Sweden. Initially, their main products were electrical appliances such as waffle makers and toasters. But in 1957, the factory supervisor approached the company’s owner, Tyra Johansson, with the idea of producing a long dumbbell. The supervisor, Mr. Hellström, was an avid weightlifter himself and wanted to address the problem of weightlifting bars constantly breaking during competitions. Hellström made a dumbbell from a special hardened steel and gave the serrations of the dumbbell a waffle pattern. The Eleiko bar was introduced at the 1963 World Weightlifting Championships in Stockholm and immediately revolutionized the weightlifting world, as the bar could last an entire match without bending or cracking, which was the case before the introduction of Eleiko bars.

Weightlifter Marian Zieliński in 1963 — Marian Zieliński in 1963

A thousand world records

In 1963, Marian Zielinski of Poland set the first world record with an Eleiko bar. Since then, more than 1,000 world records have been set with Eleiko halters. The 1000th world record was set at the 2011 World Championships in Paris by Hristov Valentin of Azerbaijan who competed in the 56 kg bodyweight category when he broke the world youth record with an elevator of 154 kg Clean and Jerk. After the performance, Valentin received “The Eleiko 1000th World Record Award,” which consisted of a complete Eleiko barbell set.

Halmstad Rubber Factory

Four years after Eleiko bars were introduced to the international stage, an employee of the company met a weightlifter who used rubber tires around his steel weights to reduce damage and suppress the sound of weights hitting the floor. Shortly thereafter, a collaboration with the Halmstad Rubber Factory was born. And a custom rubber mix was manufactured, and in 1967 Eleiko’s first line of rubber weights was introduced. The same factory still produces these discs.

Eleiko Rotary sleeves

Eleiko was certified by the International Weightlifting Federation in 1969 and has equipped more than 40 world championships, as well as several hundred continental and regional championships and games and 5 Olympic Games. In the 1980s, Eleiko introduced a new version of rotating sleeves, which earned immediate praise and improved weightlifters’ results by 2-3 pounds.

Innovations

In 2005, Eleiko worked with World Para Powerlifting. And in 2009, Eleiko became the sole VIP supplier for IPF World Championships. After growing interest in Olympic elevators, the company launched the SVR platform in 2017. The platform is raised off the floor and consists of layered impact zones. These are designed to reduce the noise associated with falling weights during Olympic elevators. In the same year, they released a new collection of bars called Next Generation. Equipped with a redesigned, dust-proof cover for longer life, refined knurling suitable for specific users and optimized rotation for performance under all loads. They were immediately widely appreciated in the weightlifting community.

Eleiko Öppen Deadlift Bar

The Öppen Deadlift bar is specifically designed to support deadlifting and was launched in 2019. The bar has an open design and a built-in stand and loading system. This is to give more people the opportunity to experience free weight training through deadlifting.

US Army

In July 2019, Eleiko signed a five-year contract with the U.S. Army. Which made Eleiko a preferred supplier for the U.S. military. Over the term of the contract, Eleiko will provide a range of weightlifting, strength training and performance training equipment to morale, wellness and recreation facilities in the U.S. and garrisons around the world. Eleiko has also been selected as a training partner for the U.S. Navy to further develop its Navy Operational Fitness & Fueling System (NOFFS) program, train Navy health and fitness professionals and develop NOFFS Master Trainers.

Company

Eleiko’s range of products includes bars, collars, discs, dumbbells, kettlebells and functional training equipment.

The company manufactures all its barbells in Sweden using robotic manufacturing technology. Each rod is tested through a process with a bending test of 1500 kg in the middle and 2000 kg at the end of each rod. The rod is placed in a vise and bent with a hydraulic jack and the rod should spring back to be exactly straight with a maximum deviation of 0.2 mm. If it fails, the rod will be taken out of production and scrapped. Every professional bar from Eleiko comes with a lifetime warranty.

Eighty-five percent of Eleiko’s products go abroad. The company’s main markets are the United States and Germany, but from 2017 the company began operations in the UK and France. In the Nordic countries, Eleiko distributes training and strength training machines from other brands.

Eleiko’s official website