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Privacy Policy

1 PREAMBLE

Regardless of whether you are a customer, prospective customer, applicant or visitor to our website: We, Ferd. SCHMETZ GmbH (referred to below as: “SCHMETZ” or “we”) take the protection of your personal data very seriously. But what does this mean in concrete terms?

In the following, we enable you to gain an insight into the personal data we collect from you and how we process it. Furthermore, you will receive an overview of the rights you are entitled to according to applicable data protection law. We will also provide you with a contact person if you have any further questions.


1.1 WHO ARE WE?

Ferd. SCHMETZ GmbH is a long-established company for the production of high-quality needles for textile joining processes. In more than 160 years since its foundation, the SCHMETZ brand has established itself around the globe as a guarantee for the best possible sewing results not only for designers, quality managers and producers, but also for fashion studios and hobby needleworkers. The company's worldwide presence is ensured by its own sales partners and a close-knit dealer network on all continents. The company employs around 700 people worldwide. SCHMETZ's range of products and services offers a complete spectrum for the individual needs of more than 47 sectors of the sewing and textile processing industry as well as for studios and the hobby sector. SCHMETZ's mission statement is to meet the highest demands in terms of materials used, processing techniques and product quality, combined with the goal of developing tailor-made product solutions for every application, no matter how specific.

The SCHMETZ brand is protected worldwide and enjoys a high degree of trust and recognition among consumers.

By joining the Groz-Beckert Group in January 2017, SCHMETZ was able to expand its technological resources and regional reach.

As the party responsible within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws, we

Ferd. SCHMETZ GmbH
Bicherouxstr. 53-59
52134 Herzogenrath, Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 2406 85-0
Fax: +49 (0) 2406 85-222
Email: info(at)schmetz.com

take all measures required by the applicable data protection legislation to ensure the protection of your personal data.

If you have any questions regarding this privacy statement, please contact our data protection officer:

Ferd. SCHMETZ GmbH Data Protection Officer
c/o Groz-Beckert KG
Parkweg 2
72458 Albstadt, Germany


2 SCOPE OF THE PRIVACY POLICY

The applicable legislation defines the processing of personal data as activities such as the collection, recording, organisation, sorting, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, comparison or association, limitation, deletion or destruction of personal data.

Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

This data protection declaration deals with the personal data of customers, prospective customers, applicants or visitors.

This privacy policy applies to our website www.schmetz.com.


3 WHAT PERSONAL DATA DO WE COLLECT?

Your personal data will be collected by us when you contact us, e.g. as a prospective customer or customer.

The following types of personal data are processed by us:

 

  • Details enabling personal identification,

    • first and last name, address data, email address, telephone number

  • Company-related data

    • e.g. company name

  • Information about your interests and wishes, which you communicate to us

 

and other information comparable with these data categories.


3.1 SENSITIVE DATA

Sensitive data, i.e. special categories of personal data such as information on religious or trade union membership, is not collected in this way.


3.2 PERSONAL DATA OF MINORS

Personal data of children or minors will only be collected if they actively contact us.


3.3 USE OF COOKIES

3.3.1 WHAT ARE COOKIES?

Cookies are files that are placed on your computer by our website while you visit the site. These files store information that makes your use of this site more efficient.

We use Matomo as a web analysis service to analyse the usage behaviour on the website and in the customer portals. For this analysis, the usage information generated by the cookie (including the user's shortened IP address) is transmitted to the Groz-Beckert server and stored for usage analysis purposes. We use the usage analysis to optimise our own websites, customer portals, customer approach and other advertising measures as well as for market research purposes. The IP address of the user is immediately shortened during this process, so that identification of the user via the IP address is no longer possible.

Any users who do not agree with the storage and evaluation of their anonymous user data for their visit to our website can object to this storage and use at any time. An anonymous use of the customer portals is not possible.

Your visit to this website is currently recorded by Matomo’s web analytics. Please click here to avoid your visit being recorded.

 
4 WHY DO WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA - AND ON WHAT LEGAL BASIS?


4.1 CONTRACT PERFORMANCE

We process your data in order to fulfil our contracts. This also applies to information which you provide to us within the framework of pre-contractual correspondence. The concrete purposes of the data processing depend on the respective product and the submitted request.


4.1.1 PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP

We need your name, your address, your telephone number or your email address so that we can contact you in order to carry out the contractual relationship.


4.1.2 OFFERING GOODS AND SERVICES AND PROVIDING INFORMATION

We also need your personal data in order to be able to check whether and which products and services we can and may offer you. We also process your personal data in order to be able to provide the information you have requested.


4.1.3 IMPLEMENTATION OF APPLICATION PROCEDURES

We process the data you send us as part of your application in order to check whether your professional qualifications are suitable for us. We only use your information for the application procedure and transfer it to your personnel file when a contract is concluded. If no agreement is reached, your information will be deleted or destroyed. We will not use your applicant information for any purpose other than to complete the application process.


4.2 IN TERMS OF WEIGHING UP THE INTERESTS INVOLVED WE IMPROVE OUR SERVICES AND OFFER YOU SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

4.2.1 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS FOR MARKETING PURPOSES

Your needs are important to us, and we try to provide you with information about products and services that are right for you. We use the findings from our joint business relationship and from market research for this purpose. The main goal is to adapt our product recommendations to your needs. In this context, we guarantee that we will always process the data in accordance with the applicable data protection legislation. Important: You can object to the use of your personal data for this purpose at any time.

What do we analyse and process in concrete terms?

  • Information from your visits to our website

 

4.2.2 NEWSLETTER

You have the possibility to register for our newsletter via our website. To send the newsletter we only need your e-mail address, all other information is voluntary. You will receive our newsletter only after successful completion of a double opt-in procedure. At any time you have the right to view your declaration of consent or to cancel the newsletter. Corresponding links are implemented in every message accompanying our newsletter. If you unsubscribe from our newsletter, we will immediately delete your contact data from our newsletter distribution list.

The legislator stipulates certain requirements for the validity of an electronic consent, as used for the registration for the newsletter. These include the logging of your declaration of consent. For this reason we log the date and time of consent, the text of the declaration of consent, whether the checkbox was selected, your e-mail address and all other voluntary information. We also log the date and time you click on the confirmation link and the link in the confirmation e-mail. We collect this information solely to comply with legal obligations.


4.2.3 MEASURES THAT SERVE YOUR SAFETY

We use your personal data among other things in the following cases:

  • To improve the reliability of our web applications, our IT support team works closely with you in the event of technical problems. In this context, we also evaluate logs of page accesses, actions carried out, etc.;
  • To be able to guarantee IT security;
  • In order to be able to record and prove facts in the event of possible legal disputes.


4.3 ON THE BASIS OF YOUR CONSENT

If you have consented to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes, the processing of your data by us is permissible. You can revoke this consent at any time with a view to the future, without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs (costs of your Internet connection). However, the revocation of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing operations carried out until the revocation.


5 WHERE WE TRANSMIT DATA AND WHY

5.1 DATA USAGE WITHIN SCHMETZ

Within SCHMETZ, access to your personal data is only granted to the parties that require it in order to fulfil our contractual or legal obligations or to protect our legitimate interests.


5.2 DATA USAGE OUTSIDE OF SCHMETZ

We respect the protection of your personal data and will only disclose information about you if required to do so by law, if you have consented to such disclosure, or to comply with a contractual obligation.

For the following recipients, for example, a legal obligation to pass on your personal data may apply:

  • Public authorities or supervisory authorities, e.g. tax authorities, customs authorities;
  • Auditors.

 

In order to fulfil our contractual obligations, we cooperate with other companies. These include:

  • Freight forwarders and carriers;
  • Organisers and training service providers if you have registered through us for certain trade fairs or events;
  • Banks and financial service providers to handle all financial matters.

 

Our own service providers

In order to ensure the efficiency of our operations, we make use of the services of external service providers who may receive your personal data to fulfil the purposes described, including IT service providers, printing and telecommunications service providers, debt collection, consulting or sales companies.

Important: We take good care of your personal data!

In order to ensure that the service providers comply with the same data protection standards as we do, we have concluded corresponding contracts for order processing. These contracts regulate among other things:

  • that third parties only have access to the data they need to carry out the tasks assigned to them;
  • that with the service providers only employees have access to your data who have explicitly committed themselves to compliance with the data protection regulations;
  • that the service providers comply with technical and organisational measures that guarantee data security and data protection;
  • what happens to the data when the business relationship between the service provider and us is terminated.

 

For service providers established outside the European Economic Area (EEA) we take special security measures (e.g. by using special contractual clauses) to ensure that the data is treated with the same level of care as in the EEA. We regularly check all our service providers for compliance with our specifications.

Very important: Under no circumstances do we sell your personal data to third parties!


5.3 USE OF DATA WITHIN THE GROZ-BECKERT GROUP

In order to provide you with the best possible service, we occasionally exchange data within the group. We ensure that the applicable data protection regulations are complied with and that your personal data is adequately protected at all times.

For this reason we have taken appropriate measures to ensure compliance with data protection within the Groz-Beckert Group.

We have concluded appropriate agreements with the relevant companies to ensure that personal data exchanged within the group is always protected.

In accordance with these contracts and the applicable data protection laws, we will only transfer personal data for the purposes set out in this privacy policy. The protection of your personal data is guaranteed by compliance with technical and organisational measures. If possible, we protect your data by means of pseudonymisation or anonymisation measures. If subsidiaries are located outside the EEA, we take appropriate measures to ensure that the personal data processed there is protected in the same way as within the EEA.


6 ARE YOU OBLIGED TO PROVIDE US WITH PERSONAL DATA?

In the context of the business relationship between you and SCHMETZ, we require the following categories of personal data from you:

  • all data necessary for the establishment and execution of a business relationship;
  • data required to fulfil contractual obligations;
  • data which we are legally obliged to collect.

 

Without this data it is not possible for us to enter into or execute contracts with you.


7 PERIODS OF DELETION

In accordance with the applicable data protection regulations, we do not store your personal data for longer than we need it for the purposes of the respective processing. If the data is no longer required for the fulfilment of contractual or legal obligations, we will delete it on a regular basis, unless its temporary storage is still necessary. The following reasons may exist for further storage:
 

  • commercial and tax retention obligations must be complied with: The periods for retention according to the regulations of the German Commercial Code and the German Tax Code are up to 10 years.
  • To obtain evidence in the event of legal disputes within the framework of the statutory statute of limitations: In civil law, limitation periods can be up to 30 years, with the regular limitation period occurring after three years.

 


8 YOUR RIGHTS

Within the scope of the processing of your personal data you are also entitled to certain rights. More details can be found in the relevant provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (Articles 15 to 21).


8.1 RIGHT OF ACCESS AND RECTIFICATION

You have the right to receive information from us about which of your personal data we process. If this information is (no longer) correct, you can request that we correct the data or, if the information is incomplete, supplement it. If we have passed on your data to third parties, we will inform the corresponding third parties if the legal situation is appropriate.


8.2 RIGHT OF DELETION

Under the following circumstances you may request the immediate deletion of your personal data:
 

  • if your personal information is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected;
  • if you have withdrawn your consent and there is no other legal basis for data processing;
  • if you object to the processing and there are no overriding legitimate reasons for data processing;
  • if your data is processed unlawfully;
  • if your personal data has to be deleted in order to fulfil legal obligations.

 

Please note that before deleting your data, we have to check whether there is a legitimate reason for processing your personal data.


8.3 RIGHT OF LIMITATION OF PROCESSING ("RIGHT TO BLOCK")

You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data for any of the following reasons:
 

  • if you dispute the accuracy of the data until we have had the opportunity to satisfy ourselves of the accuracy of the data;
  • if the data is processed unlawfully, but you only request the restriction of the use of personal data instead of deletion;
  • if we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of processing, but you still need it to assert, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • if you have objected to the processing and it has not yet been determined whether your legitimate interests outweigh ours.


8.4 RIGHT TO OBJECT


8.4.1 RIGHT OF OBJECTION IN INDIVIDUAL CASES

Where processing is carried out in the public interest or on the basis of a balancing of interests, you have the right to object to it on grounds relating to your particular situation. In the event of an objection, we will not further process your personal data unless we can prove compelling reasons worthy of protection for the processing of your data which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms, or because your personal data serves to assert, exercise or defend legal claims. The objection will not preclude the lawfulness of the processing carried out up to the time of the objection.


8.4.2 REJECTION OF ADVERTISING

In cases where your personal data is used for advertising purposes, you may object to this form of processing at any time. We will then no longer process your personal data for these purposes.

The rejection can be made without any specific form and should be addressed to:

Ferd. SCHMET GmbH
Bicherouxstr. 53-59
52134 Herzogenrath

Phone: +49 (0)2406 85-0
Email: info(at)schmetz.com


8.5 RIGHT TO DATA TRANSFERABILITY

You have the right to receive personal data that you have given us for processing in a transferable and machine-readable format upon request.


8.6. RIGHT TO COMPLAIN TO THE SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY (Art. 77 GDPR)

We always try to process your requests and claims as quickly as possible in order to protect your rights accordingly. However, depending on the frequency of the requests, it may take up to 30 days before we can inform you further about your request. If it takes longer, we will notify you promptly of the reasons for the delay and discuss the further procedure with you.

In some cases we may not or cannot give you any information. If legally permissible, we will inform you of the reason for the refusal to provide the information.

However, if you are not satisfied with our responses and reactions or if you believe that we are in breach of applicable data protection laws, you are free to file a complaint with both our data protection officer and the relevant supervisory authority. The supervisory authority responsible for us is:

State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information North Rhine-Westphalia
P.O. Box 20 04 44
40102 Düsseldorf

Phone: 0211/38424-0
Fax: 0211/38424-10
Email: poststelle(at)ldi.nrw.de