Can of worms, is the way to describe what I've opened here. Most companies such as LuK Clutches, Delphi Brakes, Timax Exhausts, etc make the majority of what is in their boxes, with a small amount coming from other OE manufacturers. Companies such as ADL Blueprint, Nipparts use parts from the OE manufacturers in Japan, but box them under their brand, so they are effectively OE quality, to my knowledge the main exception in ADL's case is their brake friction, which is sourced in Europe, due to the fact that the Japanese friction materials aren't suitable for the type of driving patterns in Europe. As for Unipart, Motaquip, and as you say even Lucas now, they just buy product from all over the place & box it, this means it could be the OE product, it could be OE quality pattern parts, it could be ???????. I'm not going to make this a sales pitch here, but just be careful what you buy & from whom.
Regards, Rob Drinkwater. Business Development Manager - CAFTEC Division. Camberley Auto Factors Ltd.