Staufer Guitars was established by André Waldenmaier in 1997. Previously Waldenmaier had worked with Chandler Guitars to set up a German branch of Chandler and had been trained by Chandler in London in guitar finishing, re-fretting and fret dressing. Chandler Guitars München GmbH was founded in the summer of 1985 with Waldenmaier as a managing partner. The main focus of this company was manufacture, repair and customizing of electric guitars & distribution of Mesa / Boogie products. When Doug Chandler ended his involvement in Munich in 1987, Waldenmaier took over completely and renamed it Lake Placid Guitars GmbH for legal reasons. He sold Lake Placid Guitars in 1995 before relocating and opening Staufer Guitars in 1997.

Source: Staufer Guitars website (3 November 2020)