The story of Thor Technologies begins long before its official founding. In the 1990s, the team behind Thor worked at Australian Protective Electronics (APE), where they pioneered spike and surge protection products that were years ahead of their time. Among their key breakthroughs were the Continuous Power Filter, Volt Guard, and Power Guard — selling over one million of these units. These products brought meaningful protection to homes and businesses during a decade when electronics were becoming increasingly vulnerable to power anomalies.

At the centre of this innovation was Willy Nelissen, a rare figure with qualifications in both electronics and electrical engineering. His career spanned railway communications and work with Grundig Germany, a leading TV manufacturer in the 1980s, before he made Australia home. Willy’s ability to bridge two engineering disciplines made him uniquely positioned to anticipate the needs of the digital age.