Privacy Statement

Personal data (hereinafter for the most part only referred to as “Data”) is processed by us only to the extent as dictated by business needs, as well as for the purpose of providing a functional and user-friendly website, including its content and the services offered there.
In accordance with Art. 4, numeral 1. of (EU) Regulation 2016/679, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “GDPR”), the term “processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
By providing the following Privacy Statement, we wish to inform you in particular about the nature, scope, purpose, duration and legal basis for the processing of personal data, as far as we either alone or jointly with others decide about the purposes and means of such processing. In addition, we hereinafter inform you about the third-party components that we use for the purpose of optimization as well as for enhancing the quality of use, insofar as third parties in turn process data in their own responsibility.

Our Privacy Statement is structured as follows:
I. Information about us as controllers
II. Rights of users and data subjects
III. Information about data processing

The controllers of this website in accordance with data protection legislation are:

With respect to the data processing elaborated further hereinafter, users and data subjects have the following rights:

• The data subject has the right to receive confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning him or her are being processed, to receive information about the processed data, to receive further information about the data processing, as well as copies of the data (see also Art. 15 GDPR);
• The data subject has the right to obtain from the controller the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her (cf. also Art. 16 GDPR);
• The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay (cf. also Art. 17 GDPR), or, alternatively, insofar as further processing according to Art. 17 par. 3 GDPR is required, that such processing shall be restricted in accordance with the provisions of Art. 18 GDPR;
• The data subject shall have the right to receive the personal data concerning him or her, which he or she has provided to a controller, and have the right to transmit those data to another controller (cf. also Art. 20 GDPR);
• The data subject shall have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if the data subject considers that the controller is processing personal data relating to him or her in a manner that infringes the data privacy regulations (cf. also Art. 77 GDPR).

Furthermore, the controller is obliged to notify all recipients to whom the data are disclosed by the controller, of any correction or erasure of data or the restriction of processing that arises due to the provisions of Articles 16, 17 par. 1, 18 GDPR. However, this obligation shall not apply to the extent that such a notification is impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the data subject has the right to information about these recipients.

Also, users and data subjects according to Art. 21 GDPR shall have the right to object to future processing of personal data concerning him or her, insofar as such processing by the controller is carried out according to Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f) GDPR.  In particular, such objection is allowed where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes.

The data that are processed in the course of your use of our website will be erased or blocked as soon as the purpose of storage is no longer necessary, the erasure of the data does not contradict any statutory retention obligations, and no hereinafter deviating statements concerning individual processing procedures are made.

Cookies

a) Session-Cookies
Our Internet website uses so-called cookies. Cookies are small text files or other storage technologies, which are placed and saved on your device by the Internet browser that you use. These cookies are used to process certain individually tailored information about you, such as your browser or your IP address or your location data.
As a result of this processing, our website will be more user-friendly, more effective and safer, because, for example, our website can then be displayed in different languages and/or we can offer a shopping cart function.
The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 par. 1 lit. b.) GDPR, provided that these cookies are processed for contract initiation or contract processing.
If processing is not for contract initiation or contract processing purposes, our legitimate concern is then to improve the functionality of our Internet website. The legal basis is then Art. 6, par. 1, let. f) GDPR.
With you close your Internet browser, these session cookies will be deleted.

b) Third-party cookies
Where appropriate, our Internet website also uses cookies of partner companies, with whom we work together for the purpose of advertising, analysis or the functionality of our website.
For further details of this, particularly with regard to the purposes and the legal bases of the processing of such third-party cookies, please read through the following information.

c) Elimination option
You can prevent or restrict cookies from being installed on your device by setting your web browser accordingly. At any time, you can also delete cookies that were already saved on your device. However, the steps and measures to do so depend on the respective Internet browser that you are using. For any questions in this respect, please consult the Help function or the documentation of your Internet browser or contact the manufacturer or user support for your Internet browser. However, processing of so-called flash cookies cannot be prevented via the browser settings. Instead, in this case you will need to change the setting of your flash player. Here again, the steps and measures to do so depend on the respective flash player that you are using.

For any questions in this respect, please again consult the Help function or the documentation of your flash player or contact the manufacturer or user support for your flash player.
You should however be aware, that preventing or restricting the installation of cookies will mean that not all the features of our website will be fully usable for you.

Contact requests / Contact options

If and when you use the contact form or email to get in contact with us, the data that you provide will be used for processing your request. The data that you provide is necessary for processing and answering your inquiry – without this information we will not be able to answer your questions fully or at all.
The legal basis this processing Art. 6, par. 1, let. b) GDPR.
Your data will be erased, provided that your request has been conclusively answered and there are no statutory retention obligations, such as in the case of possible subsequent order processing.

Google Analytics

Our website uses Google Analytics. This is a web analytics service offered by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as “Google”.
By means of its certification in accordance with the “EU-US Privacy Shield”, https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active Google guarantees that the data protection guidelines of the EU are complied with even when data is processed in the USA.

The Google Analytics service is used to analyse the usage behaviour of users visiting our Internet website. The legal basis is Art. 6, par. 1, let. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the analysis, optimization and the economic operation of our Internet website.

Usage-orientated and user-related information, such as the IP address, location, time, or frequency of visits to our website, are transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. However, we use Google Analytics with the so-called anonymization function. By means of this function, Google shortens the IP address while it is still in the EU or EEA.
The data collected will be used by Google to provide us with an evaluation of your visit to our website as well as information on how you used the website. This data can also be used to help us provide further services associated with the use of our Internet website and the use of the Internet.

Google states that it does not connect your IP address with other data. In addition, Google provides further data protection information such as, for example, options for preventing the use of data in this way – https://www.google.com/intl/de/policies/privacy/partners

Furthermore, at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de Google provides a so-called opt-out add-on together with further information. This add-on can be installed on most popular Internet browsers and offers further control over the data that Google collects when you access our Internet website. The function of this add-on is that it notifies the JavaScript (ga.js) used by Google Analytics, that information about your visit to our website must not be passed on to Google Analytics. However, this does not prevent this information from being transmitted to us or to other web analytics services. Information on whether we use other web analytics services and, if so, which ones they are, is of course also provide in this Privacy Statement.

Google-Maps

Our website uses Google Maps to display our location and to generate a route description. This is a service offered by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as “Google”.

By means of its certification in accordance with the “EU-US Privacy Shield”, https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active Google guarantees that the data protection guidelines of the EU are complied with even when data is processed in the USA.

To allow certain fonts to be displayed in our Internet website, when our website is accessed, a connection is established to the Google server in the USA.

If and when you use the Google Maps component incorporated in our website, Google saves a cookie on your device via your Internet browser. Your user settings and user data will be processed so that our location can be displayed, and a route description can be generated. In this case, we cannot rule out the possibility that Google uses servers located in the USA.
The legal basis is Art. 6, par. 1, let. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the optimization of the functions provided on our website.
By means of this connection to Google, Google can determine the website from which your inquiry was sent, and to which IP address the route description should be sent.
If you do not agree with this type of processing, you have the option to prevent the installation of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your Internet browser. For details, see above under the heading “Cookies”.
In addition, the use of Google Maps and the information obtained via Google Maps is subject to the Google Terms and Conditions https://policies.google.com/terms?gl=DE&hl=de as well as the Terms and Conditions for Google Maps https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/help/terms_maps.html.

For further information, please consult https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated as well as https://policies.google.com/privacy.

„Facebook“-Social-Plug-in

Our website uses a plug-in for Facebook’s social network. Facebook is an Internet service provided by Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. In the EU, this service is in turn operated by Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland, hereinafter both referred to as “Facebook”.
By means of its certification in accordance with the “EU-US Privacy Shield”, https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active Facebook guarantees that the data protection guidelines of the EU are complied with even when data is processed in the USA.

The legal basis is Art. 6, par. 1, let. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our Internet website.

For further information about optional plug-ins and their respective functions, please consult Facebook at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/. If the plug-in is lodged on one of the pages that you visited on our website, your Internet browser will download a copy of the plug-in from the Facebook servers in the USA. For technical reasons, it will then be necessary for Facebook to process your IP address. In addition, the date and time of your visit to our website will also be recorded.

If you happen to be logged into Facebook while you are visiting one of our Internet pages that incorporate the plug-in, the information collected by the plug-in relating to your concrete visit will be recognized by Facebook. Facebook may then associate the information collected in this way to your personal user account there. Thus, for example, if you use Facebook’s so-called “Like” button, this information will be stored in your Facebook user account and, where applicable, it may be posted via the Facebook platform. If you want to prevent this, you must either log out of Facebook before visiting our website, or use an add-on for your Internet browser, which will block the Facebook plug-in from being loaded.

For further information about the collection and use of data as well as your rights in this respect and your options for protection, please consult Facebook’s private policy information that is accessible at https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

„Twitter“-Social-Plug-in

Our website uses a plug-in for Twitter’s social network. Twitter is an internet service provided by Twitter Inc., 795 Folsom St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA, hereinafter referred to as “Twitter”.
By means of its certification in accordance with the “EU-US Privacy Shield”, https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TORzAAO&status=Active Twitter guarantees that the data protection guidelines of the EU are complied with even when data is processed in the USA.

The legal basis is Art. 6, par. 1, let. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our Internet website.

If the plug-in is lodged on one of the pages that you visited on our website, your Internet browser will download a copy of the plug-in from the Twitter servers in the USA. For technical reasons, it will then be necessary for Twitter to process your IP address. In addition, the date and time of your visit to our website will also be recorded.

If you happen to be logged into Twitter while you are visiting one of our Internet pages that incorporate the plug-in, the information collected by the plug-in relating to your concrete visit will be recognized by Twitter. Twitter may then associate the information collected in this way to your personal user account there. Thus, for example, if you use Twitter’s so-called “Share” button, this information will be stored in your Twitter user account and, where applicable, it may be posted via the Twitter platform. If you want to prevent this, you must either log out of Twitter before you visit our Internet website or make a corresponding setting in your Twitter user account.
For further information about the collection and use of data, as well as your rights in this respect and your options for protection, please consult https://twitter.com/privacy where Twitter provides its accessible private policy information.

YouTube

Our website uses YouTube. This is a video portal that is provided by YouTube, LLC., 901 Cherry Ave, 94066 San Bruno, CA, USA, hereinafter referred to as “YouTube”.

YouTube is a subsidiary of Google LLC., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as “Google”.
By means of its certification in accordance with the “EU-US Privacy Shield”, https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active Google and thus also its subsidiary YouTube guarantee that the data protection guidelines of the EU are complied with even when data is processed in the USA.

We use YouTube in conjunction with the “Advanced Data Protection Mode” function to be able to show you videos. The legal basis is Art. 6, par. 1, let. f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in improving the quality of our Internet website. According to YouTube, the “Advanced Data Protection Mode” function ensures that the data described below is transferred to the YouTube server only when you actually start a video.

Without this “Advanced Data Protection”, a connection to the YouTube server in the USA is established as soon as you call up one of our Internet pages that has an embedded YouTube video.

This connection is required so that the respective video on our Internet page can be viewed via your Internet browser. During the course of this process, YouTube will record and process at least your IP address as well as the date and the time when you visited the Internet page. In addition, a connection is established to Google’s advertising network “DoubleClick”.

If you should happen to be logged in on YouTube at the same time, YouTube will associate the connection information to your YouTube account. If you want to prevent this, you must either log out of YouTube before you visit our Internet website or make a corresponding setting in your YouTube user account.

For the purpose of functionality as well as for analysing usage behaviour, YouTube permanently saves cookies on your device through your Internet browser. If you do not agree with this type of processing, you have the option to prevent YouTube from saving these cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your Internet browser. For more information, see the above section “Cookies”.
For further information about the collection and use of data, as well as your rights in this respect and your options for protection, please consult https://policies.google.com/privacy where Google provides its accessible private policy information.

Online job applications / Publication of job vacancies

We offer you the opportunity to contact us for a job application via our Internet website. While making this digital job application, your applicant information and application data will be electronically collected and processed by us for the purpose of processing your application.

The legal basis for this processing is Section 26 par. 1 sentence 1 BDSG in conjunction with Art. 88 par. 1 GDPR.

Insofar as an employment contract is concluded on the basis of this application process, we will store the data that you submitted to us in your personnel file, for the purpose of the usual organizational and administrative process – whereby we of course consider all further legal obligations in this respect.

The legal basis for this processing is also Section 26 par. 1 sentence 1 BDSG in conjunction with Art. 88 par. 1 GDPR.

In the event that an application is rejected, we automatically delete the forwarded data two months after the notification of rejection. However, the data will not be deleted if statutory provisions require extended storage of data up to four months, for example because of burden of proof obligations as per the General Equal Treatment Act, or until the end of judicial proceedings.
The legal basis for this is Art. 6 par. 1 let. f) GDPR and Section 24, par. 1 No. 2 BDSG. Our legitimate interest lies in legal defence resp. legal enforcement.

Where you expressly approve a longer period of storage of your data, for example for the purpose of being included in an applicant database or prospect database, the data will be processed on the basis of your consent. The legal basis is then Art. 6, par. 1, let. a) GDPR. However, you may of course revoke such approval at any time according to Art. 7 par. 3 GDPR by stating this to us with effect for the future.