B.I.O. Industries is a small manufacturer of high-end metal yo-yos that was started in 2005. Owned and operated by Alex Kim, the first yo-yo in the line, the Malleus, was released in 2006 and started shipping to customers in late April of that year. With the initial release of the company shrouded in controversy, with stores such as TheYo refusing to take on the product by paying for manufacturing, the yo-yo was only carried at a limited number of online retailers such as YoYoNation.