The World Renowned Eleiko Feeling.

Back in 1928, Eleiko manufactured waffle irons, electric heaters, hotplates and other small electric products. Yes, you read that right, waffle irons. But that changed one day in 1957. On that day, supervisor Hellstrom approached our managing director, Mrs. Tyra Johansson, with an unusual request. You see, Mr. Hellstrom was an avid weightlifting enthusiast and he knew that the bars of the day could not consistently stand up to the demands of hard core lifting. He had a vision for the perfect bar but he needed access to the company’s casting, lathing and machining equipment to craft the ultimate weightlifting bar and plates.

Hellstrom combined a lifter’s knowledge of the sport with Swedish craftsmanship, Eleiko’s proprietary Swedish steel formula, and a special steel hardening process to produce the world’s first Eleiko bar. Appropriately enough, that bar featured a waffle pattern knurl.

First sold to friends and local weightlifters, the reputation of the Eleiko bar continued to spread over the next few years. Fame came in 1963 when the Eleiko bar debuted on the international stage at the World Weightlifting Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. To everyone’s shock it was the first bar to last an entire competition without bending or cracking, something we now take for granted.

A Legend is Born or, Perhaps More Accurately, is Forged.

With unrivaled performance around the globe, it’s no surprise that Eleiko was there when powerlifting was born. The stresses and loads of powerlifting can be hundreds of pounds more than in weightlifting. So it was only natural that lifters turned to Eleiko when the strongest of bars was required. We were a pioneer in the sport and were among the first, if not the first to receive International Powerlifting Federation certification.

Let’s not forget the classic iron plates. Back in the day they were so inconsistent that big competitions required the referees to weigh the plates for record attempts before the event even started. Fortunately, Eleiko’s machine calibrated plates made this a footnote in history. Eleiko plates are machined, calibrated and painted – practically making them a functional piece of art. You’ll always know your lifts are true with Eleiko.

Now, 50 years later, this former waffle maker enjoys international acclaim, with bars and plates sold in more than 130 countries around the world. Fifty years later, we are still the standard to beat.

The World's Toughest Quality Control.

Today, the Eleiko bar is still produced from the same specially hardened Swedish steel alloy that we developed in the 1950's.

To ensure perfection, every single Eleiko bar must pass our stringent quality controls. Each bar is placed in a vice and bent with a hydraulic ram jack and tortured with a force of 1500 kilos. The bar must then spring back to an exact straightness with a maximum deviation of no more than 0.5 mm. The same test is then repeated on the sleeves but with a force of 2500 kilos. If it doesn’t bounce back, we melt it down and start again.

Signed by the craftsman in control, every bar is labeled with the date of production, batch number, and serial number. Because we can trace the steel batch back to the foundry and date of the Eleiko quality test we can guarantee a 10 YEAR WARRANTY on all powerlifting bars. So how long does it really last? We don't know. Bars made 30 years ago are still in use around the world! And of course, all Eleiko equipment is IPF approved.

Check out our complete line of Elekio powerlifting and weightlifting products