Theo is more than just a brand; it’s a revolution in laser technology. Theo was created by Maxphotonics, a global leader in laser solutions.
Maxphotonics established Theo to focus on product development and build the best tools in the industry. The company achieves this by fostering local communities and engaging directly with those who use their products.
Interview with Steffen Köhnlein, Head of Sales, EMEA at THEO Laser Tools.
What innovative products, services, or solutions has your company launched this year—or plans to launch by early next year?
Steffen Köhnlein: So far in 2025 we launched the following products:
- MA1 Ultra
The THEO MA1 ULTRA, is the latest handheld laser welder in THEO MA1 Series, engineered for professionals who demand extra depth and efficiency. Engineered with Maxphotonics’ world-class laser technology, the MA1 ULTRA delivers deeper welds, reduced heat, and enhanced power— while ensuring precise laser control and stable beam quality.
The MA1 ULTRA maintains a 100% duty cycle on materials up to 4mm, ensuring continuous, reliable performance in the most demanding conditions. For even more challenging jobs, the boost mode delivers ultra-deep penetration of up to 8.5mm, giving you extra power when you need it most.
How deep the welds can go on different materials? Stainless steel: 8.5mm; Carbon steel / Iron: 8.5mm; Galvanized Sheet: 8.5mm; Aluminium: 6.5mm.
The upgraded laser modules feature industrial-grade, gold-plated laser pumps, delivering maximum efficiency, longer life, and 10% less energy consumption. Tested for over 3000 hours at full power in extreme conditions, the MA1 ULTRA is built to handle even the toughest jobs.
The MA1 Ultra comes with a T1x wire feeder which has been optimized for smoother operation and communicates directly with the unit, ensuring seamless performance and precise control.
The MA1 Series emphasizes safety in all welding tasks with features like a laser status indicator, dual-trigger mechanism, emergency stop button, and a robust interlock system. Additional measures include a key switch and double-channel safety controls for comprehensive protection while maintaining high performance.
- Double Wire Feeder
The simultaneous feeding of two wires in the welding process – known as Double Wire Feeding – offers significant advantages over single wire feeding and traditional methods. When an welding operator can introduce twice the amount of filler material, the overall melt pool volume increases considerably. This translates to a larger leg length (A-dimension) and improves the gap-bridging capability of the laser welding process. However, the technician must pay attention to how both wires melt and how the laser beam penetrates into the base material. To keep a stable process and homogeneous fusion zone, the welder must exercise precise control. This prevents common weld defects such as porosity, lack of fusion, or edge undercut.
Another factor that affects how the filler material not only melts properly, but also fuses homogeneously with the base metal is the high focus power of the laser system. This results in a high-quality weld seam with excellent mechanical properties and visual appearance.
Furthermore, the advanced technologies built into THEO MA1 machines allow operators to handle the double wire process with ease, without additional manual skills. A key feature is the Wobble Stop function, which keeps the laser beam focused precisely at the center of the weld seam, even during beam oscillation. Such feature enables deeper, more consistent fusion in the center of the joint and helps eliminate edge notches, which is a common issue in conventional laser welding.
Now we’re about to unveil:
- The TM Series
The THEO TM Series handheld pulsed laser cleaner removes rust, paint, and contaminants in seconds. There’s no need for abrasives or solvents or time consuming post clean up. Portable, air-cooled, and built for precision, it restores surfaces to their original state while keeping your team safe and the business efficient.
Engineered by Maxphotonics, the world’s leading fiber laser expert, the TM Series delivers the speed, safety, and reliability you need to turn back time on any job. It is not just a laser cleaner, it is a time machine.
With scan speeds up to 30 m/s and ultra-focused laser output, you control every pass with precision. Its reach gets into the tightest and toughest angles without disassembly. This translates to less downtime and more speedy work.
Sandblasting and chemical cleaning demand hazmat-level PPE, create hazardous waste, and put your crew at risk. The TM Series changes that. All you need is a fume extractor and proper PPE. It vaporizes contaminants on contact while the extractor draws away airborne particles. No toxic dust clouds. No chemical runoff.
Built-in safeguards:
- Smart Shut Down: Laser fires only when aimed at the workpiece
- Dual-Channel Interlocks: Stops operation unless all safety conditions are met
- Fiber Breakage Detection: Constant monitoring with instant alerts and pinpoint diagnostics
The 10.4″ touchscreen comes loaded with intuitive presets and the built-in distance meter locks your focal point instantly. You can adjust settings from the handle without walking back to the machine. The 3 kg (6.6 lb) cleaning head keeps operators productive all day without fatigue.
Complete list of applications:
- Rust and Paint Removal
- Surface Preparation for Coating
- Corrosion Removal
- Pre-Weld Cleaning and Preparation
- Post-Weld Treatment
- Surface Conditioning
- Equipment Degreasing
- Contaminant Removal from Hulls and Propellers
- Marking and Identification Removal on Marine Components
- Anodization Removal
- Oxide Removal from Metal Surfaces
What market needs or customer challenges are these innovations aiming to address?
S.K: MA1 Ultra Customer needs:
Extra depth, Precision, efficiency, safety. The THEO MA1 ULTRA is the ultimate tool for professionals who need to go deeper, stronger, and more efficiently—built to endure, save energy, and deliver maximum results.
Double wire feeder customer needs:
improved productivity, enhanced weld quality, reduced post-processing, better gap-bridging capability, intuitive usability, consistent and stable process, deeper and more consistent fusion.
TM Series customer needs:
Precise material removal without thermal damage, substrate protection, better cleaning quality, more efficient energy Usage, greater process control.
How have recent innovations impacted your operations, product offering, or customer experience?
S.K: In the product development and production we use AI to get faster simulations of our designs.
Which technologies or methods have played a key role in delivering these innovations (e.g., AI, automation, digital platforms, new materials)?
S.K: Automation has a massive impact on our ability to deliver high product quality. Our factory is organized to be a vertical manufacturing production, and every production floor is fully automated.
In terms of platforms, on our website we offer THEO Academy for free. It’s a space where THEO experts teach registered members about laser safety and laser process.
Have you introduced any innovation that contributes directly to sustainability, efficiency, or reduced environmental impact?
S.K: Handheld laser welding can contribute to a more positive environmental impact. The primary reasons come down to energy usage, waste reduction, and material efficiency.
Compared to traditional welding methods like MIG or TIG, laser welding is a far more efficient process. It uses a concentrated beam of light to create a precise weld, which requires significantly less electrical power to operate. The state-of-the-art of Maxphotonics laser technology that is built in THEO handheld laser welding machines increases electro-optical efficiency up to 37%. This reduction in energy consumption directly translates to a smaller carbon footprint during the manufacturing process.
Another relevant benefit is how laser welding minimizes material waste. Laser welding doesn’t require consumable materials like filler wire or gas in many applications. For projects that do use a filler wire, the amount needed is often minimal due to the precision of the laser. Less filler wire means fewer resources are extracted, processed, transported and thrown away.
Furthermore, minimal distortion reduces the need for rework or scrapping of parts. In our case, thanks to the built-in wobble stop function, seam welds create less heat distortion. This, of course, has a positive impact on quality as well as on the reduction of production costs.
It’s also worth mentioning that the high precision of the laser allows us to create strong, clean welds with minimal heat input. This reduces the heat-affected zone on the parts being joined, which often makes it possible to weld thinner materials without distortion. This ability to work with thinner, lighter materials helps reduce the overall weight of finished products, a particularly important factor for industries like automotive and aerospace where lighter vehicles lead to better fuel efficiency and lower emissions.
Lastly, Handheld laser welders create a cleaner workspace by significantly reducing the amount of spatter produced. Unlike traditional welding, which can throw off sparks and vaporize metal particles into the air, laser welding’s focused energy minimizes these harmful airborne particles. This also means you don’t typically need chemical fluxes to clean the surface or harsh shielding gases beyond a simple inert gas like argon or nitrogen (N2) to protect the weld, which cuts down on chemical use and makes the process safer for the operator and the environment.
Are there specific industries, regions, or customer segments you are targeting with these innovations?
S.K: Through our Distributores Network, we’re active in North, Central and Latin America, Europe Middle East and Africa and APAC region, we consider ourselves a global company.
For the MA1 ULTRA with the double wire feeder integrated, the targeted customer segment includes businesses that look for a welding tool that can weld thick materials (8.5 – 10mm) and may need to join wider welds (4mm). At the same time they want speed and waste-reduction. Target industries may vary, they are usually those where MIG and MAG jobs are required such as: Automotive, Manufacturing and Fabrication, Construction, Shipbuilding and Rail, Pipeline Fabrication.
Whereas for the TM Series, as we’re talking about laser cleaners the target is different. It’s meant for small to large scale operations that look for speed, intuitive usability, reliability, and of course safety. Also in this case target industries may vary and are those that cover the applications listed above (see: “Complete list of applications”). They are for example: Automative, Aerospace, Shipbuilding / Offshore, Electronics & Semiconductor Industry, Industrial Manufacturing and Fabrication, Cultural Heritage & Art Restoration, Mechanical & Tooling Industry. In short, any industry that requires precise, effective removal of surface layers or contaminants, without damaging the base material or producing significant waste, can use handheld laser machines. This includes industries that deal with materials like Stainless steel, Mild and Carbon steel, aluminium, and a wide variety of other metals and alloys.
What was the feedback received from clients that has influenced the development of your recent or upcoming solutions?
S.K: Client feedback that influence the MA1 Ultra production & Double wire feeder integration:
We developed the MA1 ULTRA thanks to our customers. They shared that THEO handheld laser welding machines work so great and make welding work so much smoother that they could replace most of their TIG welding units, as well as hire new laser welding operators.
However, we were also told in no half terms that they don’t just want to speed up welding jobs with TIG, they also want machines that can replace parts of their MIG and MAG jobs. Consequently, we decided to build a new machine with increased laser power to achieve thickness up to 10mm. At the same time we had to figure out how to solve the issue with A-measures, which is the visual strength inspection our customers use. Giving the customers the possibility to replace the single wire feeder with a double wire feeder was just an organic product development, as the single wire feeder often isn’t enough to join seams of wider welds. We can share that thanks to the integration of the double wire feeder on the MA1 ULTRA, some of our customers were able to show us some WPQRs (Welding Procedure Qualification Record, a worldwide recognized certification) with Execution class 2 and 3.
Feedback that influenced the TM Series development:
Handheld laser cleaners are still a relative new laser application. Therefore, when we first decided to develop our own, it didn’t come specifically from customer feedback, rather from our experience in the sheet metal industry and from our direct observation of how companies operates. Traditional mechanical cleaning, polishing as grinding processes require using highly chemical products whose fumes and micro particles are released in the air where operators work. In addition, the mechanical process of grinding may go even 1 or 2 mm too deep, enough to impact on the quality of the finished product.
We wanted to offer a product that could reduce safety and health-related issues, speed the preparation and cleanup process, and deliver the highest quality standards possible. We also think that the handheld laser cleaners in the TM Series could be more reliable than humans especially where safety checks are concerned.
THEO Day 2025 is an event we organized exclusively for the European Dealers in our Distributuion network. On this occasion we invited them to THEO’s new European Head Quarter in Gilching, close to Munich (Germany). Among other things, we gave them an exclusive preview of the TM series, the new product in the THEO line up. They were very happy to contribute t the development and eager to learn more about the TM series. Their feedback was comprehensive, it touched several aspects of product design, ergonomics, usability and safety.
How do the products/solutions help improve client efficiency or productivity?
S.K: Laser technology itself makes increased efficiency and productivity possible. First and foremost, the pre- and post working times get cut up to 85% in comparison to traditional welding methods.
What products/solutions you believe will be industry highlights in 2025?
S.K: Since we’re already in the second half of 2025, I’ll share what I think is going to be the industry trend highlight for 2026: AI-driven automation for industry solutions, especially robotized laser welding programmed by AI.