I am not sure you were already their distributor. According to my records, this was before 2005 and the item I asked for was the backplate from what I see in those records.

I had to cut the backplate to get the stand off the bike. On another occasion the folding mechanism area got so bad that I could not unfold it - maybe already this was already another Pletscher stand. I went through maybe 3 of them, on different bikes.

Let me elaborate more on what I think is deficient in ESGE-Pletscher and what is good in what you called a cheap knock-off. In general alu is, in my opinion, a questionable material for a kickstand. It is more justified for a folder than another bike and you may try to get around the weakness of the material. The legs in Pletscher are thin, for alu, although of about the same cross section as for other marginal stands such as the reference Greenfield. However, in Pletscher one leg approaches ground at a shallow angle putting extra lateral stress on that leg, and transferred to the top, making the stand extra wobbly. The bolt in Pletscher has about the same diameter as in Greenfield, but is supposed to carry twice the load. The result is that you either risk stripping the thread by overtightening the bolt or having it constantly loosen. The folding mechanism sucks the mud in. I was trying to protect it in winter season by filling spaces with grease but it still did not help.

Now this one-leg stand I indicated has alu parts, but they are thick. The portion of the leg that goes down represents nearly the sum of material cross section for the two Pletscher legs, while the load is half. Sure, one legged-stands have balance and slip problems, but adjustability helps to alleviate those. Still, Pletscher has advantage over many single-legged that are not adjustable and the advantage of folding to one side. For many people who use their bikes once in a while, Pletscher can be sufficient. I use a bike day in day out and such a stand like 2-legged Pletscher is a constant source of anxiety that I cannot tolerate. On full-size bikes, I go with sturdy Hebie 2-legged stands.

That was more or less my expectation. As to ESGE/Pletscher, I recall their very innovative, for the time, ski bindings. At the moment, though, I do not see them pushing the envelope in the bike area. The designs are frozen in time, at least in my cone of view.