Line-Ex Link Barricades Debut at the Rio Olympic Games

Last updated Friday, October 6th, 2023

New Guardian Line-Ex Barricades Take “Gold” in Crowd Control at the 2016 Rio Olympics

The Olympic games never seem to fail to capture the world’s attention and dazzle us with spectacles never before seen or thought possible. This year’s 2016 Rio Olympic games were certainly no exception. We saw an up-and-coming gymnast named Simone Biles transform into a world-renown superstar practically overnight. In the pool, we were amazed as Michael Phelps continued his dominance and added to his record-breaking gold medal collection. On the court, we marveled at the United States basketball team, led by Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and other NBA superstars, defeated all opponents and ended up once again at the top of the podium. Even with all this excitement, the debut of Guardian Safety Plastic’s new LineEx Link Barricades did not go unnoticed.

In years past, countries hosting the Olympic games have tried a variety of plastic barricades to help keep order among the spectators and participants. However, most of these scenarios ended with a large majority of the inventory being damaged due to the constant use. Galvanized metal or “bike rack” style barricades were often used as well, but they are much heavier and more cumbersome than the plastic alternatives. Many Olympic site planners also felt their appearance was too industrial and not very pleasing to the millions rooting on their countries at home.

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These are exactly the reasons that caused us to re-engineer the portable plastic barricade and led to the invention of the LineEx Link Barricade. Unlike the plastic barriers previously used, these barricades are made from one-mold polyethylene plastic. This results in a much more durable barricade. In fact, the LineEx Link barrier is strong enough to serve as a replacement for a steel barricade with little to no drop in shelf life.

In addition, while maintaining this elite durability, the LineEx Link Barricades also retain all the advantages of the inferior plastic barrier models used in the past. These plastic barricades weight only 26 pounds. They can also fit into themselves and stack for easy transport and storage. This was extremely important for their use in the Olympics in Rio as they needed to be transported from event to event quickly and efficiently. The barricades also come in 8 vibrant and attractive colors that, unlike steel barricades, are pleasing to the eye.

We’ve received a very positive response from our contacts at the Rio Olympics. The LineEx Link Barricades exceeded their expectations for a plastic, portable pedestrian barricade. We were very fortunate to have such a large venue to debut our newest product and are excited to share its many benefits with other markets.

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