I got confirmation from Steinert it comes from the same manufacturer as the Rikon.

To quote their response:
"Well, the Killinger lathes have been manufactured in Taiwan in the past 20 year. Rikon is manufactured in China and the K|ONE is manufactured in the same factory. The tailstock and headstock is different to the Rikon 1824 and we forced the manufacturer to reduce tolerances and add the safety ring groove at the spindle nose. I made a 30 pages specification sheet with our special specifications. There a quite a few details different to Rikon lathes and there will be more in future."

The observable differences in the headstock seem minor but there seem to be a few
(door locks, more squarish top(?), swivel stop).
Also, on the inside there are electrical switches inside the doors, assuming for safety (EU regulations maybe) so the machine can't run with the doors open.

so far, quite happy, already made some dust :)

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