I usually refer to products built by IKEA as “polished turds”, but the Jerker series of workstations is different. They’re contructed from heavy guage steel and medium density fiberboard (MDF). Once assembled, they are – in very un-IKEA-like fashion – very sturdy. We’ve used these desks in our office about just about a year and so far they’ve proven themselves to be great.

The IKEA Jerker

We have a new employee starting work on Monday, so you can imagine my dismay when I swung down to my local (not really that local) IKEA to pick up another Jerker workstation only to find they’ve been discontinued. I had to settle for what logically seems to be its replacement; the Fredrik workstation. The Fredrik workstation has a more pleasing appearance than the Jerker, but isn’t near as stout or durable. The IKEA website lists it for $99, but locally it costs $149.

Assembling it was like taking a class on Clever Engineering. Each step of assembly brought a knowing smile to my face. Only four screws hold the whole thing together! Everything else is an ingenious system of interlocking clips further strengthened by the MDF shelves. Cleverness aside, this desk was obviously engineered for ease of assembly and production efficiency. Once assembled, it’s clear that this desk probably won’t last more than two or three years. The Jerker will probably last ten.

Oh well, it’s all in the name of profits progress.

IKEA Fredrik