Thanks again [MENTION=448872]CyclesMakaron[/MENTION], despite it not being your area of expertise that's more than I knew.

No my frame does not have any EMC markings, and as the decal on it says it was designed by Eddy but built by Litespeed I'm sure its a USA made one.

While rummaging around on the internet I came across this too which may be a stage prior to the point 1) you listed above.

This is from a 94 Merckx catalogue and mentions the launch of the new 'Titanal'...careful how you type that into google

It says Merckx had worked with an Austrian metallurgical firm (no idea who that was) who supplied titanium that was bonded together with special alloy lugs. I'd never heard of a bonded ti frame before. As it seems Merckx started using Litespeed in 1994, I'm guessing the bonded ti option was not a great success.

Anyway thanks again.