Were/are Thorn branded tubes still available Downunder? Or just supplied in fittings? We've not had Thorn branded tubes since GE took over the lamps here. Thorn fittings have had GE or other brands ever since..

We've had Thorn branded tubes until quite recently (maybe still do if Thorn Aus still sell T8 fittings which I doubt) but they are made in either China or Indonesia and only come in Thorn fittings. Not a patch on the UK ones. These two probably came in Thorn fittings.

Yes something we have never had over here I'm very surprised that T8 PPs are not available down under al? guess there is fierce competition from CHINA? I'd like one of these just as a collection piece tho! This is more like a Fitzgerald feature here.

Probably only available now to special order from Thorn, Thorn Aus only list T5 PP's on their site now but there's loads of other local manufacturers who make T8 fittings still, much better than the last offerings from Thorn. Lot of crap from China sold here too but mainly through retail and wholesalers to sparkies who don't wanna install something decent.

At the time that Thorn sold off its light sources division to GE, it signed an agreement not to use the Thorn brand on lamps it imported for the next hundred years. Otherwise, there were fears that since Thorn's brand was so strong it would simply dispose of its loss-making lamps operation to GE, and then source in lamps from other manufacturers under the powerful Thorn brand and end up competing again against GE. Apparently this agreement did not exist though in all countries of the world. For the European market, this is why, when Zumtobel group started making LED retrofit lamps, they could not sell them under the powerful Thorn name and had to set up the new business "Ledon". One wonders how much more sucessful Ledon might have been if they were indeed able to sell lamps under the Thorn brand. At least the electronic drivers for the Ledon lamps though are manufactured in Thorn's old factory at Spennymoor