We take data protection concerns very seriously and want to ensure that your privacy is protected at all times when using our services. The following privacy statement explains how your personal data is handled by us.

1) Information on the Collection of Personal Data and Contact Details of the Controller

1.1 We are pleased that you are visiting our website and thank you for your interest. In the following, we inform you about the handling of your personal data when using our website. Personal data is all data with which you can be personally identified.

1.2 The controller in charge for data processing on this website within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is GHL Advanced Technology GmbH & Co. KG, Marie-Curie-Straße 20, 67661 Kaiserslautern, Deutschland, Tel.: +49 6301 / 32015-0, Fax: +49 6301 / 32015-49, E-Mail: info@ghl-kl.de. The controller in charge of the processing of personal data is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

1.3 This website uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and to protect the transmission of personal data and other confidential content (e.g. orders or inquiries to the controller). You can recognize an encrypted connection by the character string https:// and the lock symbol in your browser line.

2) Data Collection When You Visit Our Website

When using our website for information only, i.e. if you do not register or otherwise provide us with information, we only collect data that your browser transmits to our server (so-called “server log files”). When you visit our website, we collect the following data that is technically necessary for us to display the website to you:

  • Our visited website
  • Date and time at the moment of access
  • Amount of data sent in bytes
  • Source/reference from which you came to the page
  • Browser used
  • Operating system used
  • IP address used (if applicable: in anonymized form)

Data processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR on the basis of our legitimate interest in improving the stability and functionality of our website. The data will not be passed on or used in any other way. However, we reserve the right to check the server log files subsequently, if there are any concrete indications of illegal use.

3) Cookies

In order to make your visit to our website attractive and to enable the use of certain functions, we use so-called cookies on various pages. These are small text files that are stored on your end device. Some of the cookies we use are deleted after the end of the browser session, i.e. after closing your browser (so-called session cookies). Other cookies remain on your terminal and enable us or our partner companies (third-party cookies) to recognize your browser on your next visit (persistent cookies). If cookies are set, they collect and process specific user information such as browser and location data as well as IP address values according to individual requirements. Persistent cookies are automatically deleted after a specified period, which may vary depending on the cookie.

In some cases, cookies are used to simplify the ordering process by saving settings (e.g. remembering the content of a virtual shopping basket for a later visit to the website). If personal data are also processed by individual cookies set by us, the processing is carried out in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point b GDPR either for the execution of the contract or in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR to safeguard our legitimate interests in the best possible functionality of the website and a customer-friendly and effective design of the page visit.
We work together with advertising partners who help us to make our website more interesting for you. For this purpose, cookies from partner companies are also stored on your hard drive when you visit our website (third-party cookies). You will be informed individually and separately about the use of such cookies and the scope of the information collected in each case within the following sections.

Please note that you can set your browser in such a way that you are informed about the setting of cookies and you can decide individually about their acceptance or exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or generally. Each browser differs in the way it manages the cookie settings. This is described in the help menu of each browser, which explains how you can change your cookie settings. You will find these for the respective browsers under the following links:

Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies
Firefox: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/privacy/websites/#cookies
Google: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/61416?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
Safari: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/manage-cookies-and-website-data-sfri11471/mac
Opera: http://help.opera.com/Windows/10.20/en/cookies.html

Please note that the functionality of our website may be limited if cookies are not accepted.

4) Contacting

In the context of contacting us (e.g. via contact form or e-mail), personal data is collected. Which data is collected in the case of a contact form can be seen from the respective contact form. These data are stored and used exclusively for the purpose of responding to your request or for establishing contact and for the associated technical administration. The legal basis for processing data is our legitimate interest in responding to your request in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR. If your contact is aimed at concluding a contract, the additional legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 (1) point b GDPR. Your data will be deleted after final processing of your enquiry; this is the case if it can be inferred from the circumstances that the facts in question have been finally clarified, provided that there are no legal storage obligations to the contrary.

5) Registration at the portal or forum

You can register on our website by entering your personal data. The personal data processed for registration is determined by the input mask used for registration. We use the so-called double opt-in procedure for registration, i.e. your registration is not complete until you have previously confirmed your registration via a confirmation e-mail sent to you for this purpose by clicking on the link contained therein. If you do not receive confirmation within 24 hours, your registration will automatically be deleted from our database. You are obliged to provide the aforementioned data; all further information can be provided voluntarily by using our portal.

If you use our portal, we store your data necessary for the fulfilment of the contract as well as, if necessary, information on the method of payment, until you finally delete your access. Furthermore, we store the data provided voluntarily by you for the duration of your use of the portal, unless you delete it beforehand. You can manage and change all information in the protected customer area. The legal basis can be found in Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR.

In addition, we store all content published by you (such as public contributions, bulletin board entries, guestbook entries, etc.) to operate the website. We have a legitimate interest in providing the website and the complete user-generated content. The legal basis can be found in Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR. If you delete your account, your public statements, especially in the forum, will remain visible to all readers. However, your account is no longer accessible. All other data will be deleted in this case.

6) Use of Your Data for Direct Advertising

6.1 If you subscribe to our e-mail newsletter, we will send you regular information about our offers. The only mandatory information for sending the newsletter is your e-mail address. The indication of additional possible data is voluntary and is used to be able to address you personally. We use the so-called double opt-in procedure for sending the newsletter. This means that we will not send you an e-mail newsletter, unless you have expressly confirmed to us that you agree to the sending of the newsletter. We will then send you a confirmation e-mail asking you to confirm that you wish to receive future newsletters by clicking on an appropriate link.

By activating the confirmation link, you give us your consent to the use of your personal data in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point a GDPR. When you register for the newsletter, we store your IP address entered by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) as well as the date and time of registration so that we can trace any possible misuse of your e-mail address at a later time. The data collected by us when registering for the newsletter will be used exclusively for the purpose of advertising by means of the newsletter. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time via the link provided in the newsletter or by sending a message to the responsible person named above. After your cancellation, your e-mail address will immediately be deleted from our newsletter distribution list, unless you have expressly consented to further use of your data or we reserve the right to use data in excess thereof, which is permitted by law and about which we inform you in this declaration.

6.2 If you have provided us with your e-mail address when purchasing products, we reserve the right to regularly send you offers for products similar to those already purchased from our range by e-mail. Pursuant to Section 7 (3) German law against unfair competition, we do not need to obtain separate consent from you for this. In this respect, data processing is carried out solely on the basis of our legitimate interest in personalized direct advertising pursuant to Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR. If you have initially objected to the use of your e-mail address for this purpose, we will not send you an e-mail. You are entitled to object to the use of your e-mail address for the aforementioned advertising purpose at any time with effect for the future by notifying the controller named at the beginning. In this regard, you only have to pay the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. Upon receipt of your objection, the use of your e-mail address for advertising purposes will cease immediately.

6.3 Our e-mail newsletters are sent via the technical service provider, The Rocket Science Group, LLC d/b/a MailChimp, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Suite 5000, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA (http://www.mailchimp.com/), to whom we pass on the data you provided when registering for the newsletter. This disclosure is made in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR and serves our legitimate interest in the use of an effective, secure, and user-friendly newsletter system. Please note that your data is usually transferred to a MailChimp server in the USA and stored there.
MailChimp uses this information to send and statistically evaluate the newsletter on our behalf. For evaluation purposes, the e-mails sent contain so-called web beacons or tracking pixels, which represent single-pixel image files stored on our website. This allows us to determine whether a newsletter message has been opened and which links have been clicked on. In addition, technical information is recorded (e.g. time of retrieval, IP address, browser type and operating system). The data are raised exclusively in a pseudonymized format and are not linked with other personal data from you. A direct personal relationship is excluded. This data is used exclusively for statistical analysis of newsletter campaigns. The results of these analyses can be used to better adapt future newsletters to the interests of the recipients. If you wish to object to the data analysis for statistical evaluation purposes, you must unsubscribe from the newsletter. Furthermore, MailChimp can use this data according to Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR even on the basis of its own legitimate interest in the demand-oriented design and optimization of the service as well as for market research purposes, for example, to determine from which countries recipients come. However, MailChimp does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to address those recipients or pass that data on to third parties.

To protect your data in the USA, we have concluded a data processing agreement (“Data-Processing-Agreement”) with MailChimp on the basis of the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission to enable the transmission of your personal data to MailChimp. If interested, this data processing agreement can be viewed at the following Internet link: http://mailchimp.com/legal/forms/data-processing-agreement/.

MailChimp is also certified under the US-European data protection agreement “Privacy Shield” and thus undertakes to comply with EU data protection regulations.

The data protection regulations of MailChimp can be viewed at: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/

7) Use of Videos

Use of Youtube Videos

This website uses the Youtube embedding function for display and playback of videos offered by the provider Youtube, which belongs to Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (“Google”).

To this end, the extended data protection mode is used to ensure, according to provider information, that user information will only be stored once the playback function of the video is started. When the playback of embedded YouTube videos is started, the provider sets “YouTube” cookies in order to collect information about user behavior. According to indications from Youtube, the use of those cookies is intended, among other things, to record video statistics, to improve user-friendliness and to avoid improper actions. If you are logged in to Google, your information will be directly associated with your account when you click on a video. If you do not wish to be associated with your profile on YouTube, you must log out before activating the button. Google saves your data (even for users who are not logged in) as usage profiles and evaluates them. Such an evaluation takes place in particular according to Art. 6 (1) point f GDPR on the basis of the legitimate interests of Google in the insertion of personalized advertising, market research and/or demand-oriented design of its website. You have the right to object to the creation of these user profiles, whereby you must contact YouTube to exercise this right.

Regardless of whether the embedded video is played back, a connection to the Google network “double click” is established when visiting this website. This may trigger further data processing beyond our control.

Google LLC, based in the USA, is certified for the US-European data protection agreement “Privacy Shield”, which guarantees compliance with the data protection level applicable in the EU.

Further information on YouTube data protection can be found in the provider’s data protection statement at: www.google.com/policies/privacy/

8) Rights of the Data Subject

8.1  The applicable data protection law grants you comprehensive rights of data subjects (rights of information and intervention) vis-à-vis the data controller with regard to the processing of your personal data, about which we inform you below :

  • Right of access by the data subject pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR
  • Right to rectification pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR
  • Right to erase (“right to be forgotten”) pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR
  • Right to restriction of processing pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR
  • Right to be informed pursuant to Art. 19 GDPR
  • Right to data portability pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR
  • Right to withdraw a given consent pursuant to Art. 7 (3) GDPR
  • Right to lodge a complaint pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR

8.2  RIGHT TO OBJECT

IF, WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A CONSIDERATION OF INTERESTS, WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA ON THE BASIS OF OUR PREDOMINANT LEGITIMATE INTEREST, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT AT ANY TIME TO OBJECT TO THIS PROCESSING WITH EFFECT FOR THE FUTURE ON THE GROUNDS THAT ARISE FROM YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION.
IF YOU EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT, WE WILL STOP PROCESSING THE DATA CONCERNED. HOWEVER, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO FURTHER PROCESSING IF WE CAN PROVE COMPELLING REASONS WORTHY OF PROTECTION FOR PROCESSING WHICH OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, OR IF THE PROCESSING SERVES TO ASSERT, EXERCISE OR DEFEND LEGAL CLAIMS.

IF WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA WHICH ARE USED FOR DIRECT MARKETING PURPOSES. YOU MAY EXERCISE THE OBJECTION AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

IF YOU EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT, WE WILL STOP PROCESSING THE DATA CONCERNED FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING PURPOSES.

 

9) Web analytics services

Google Analytics 4

This website uses Google Analytics 4, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland (“Google”), which enables the analysis of your use of our website.

By default, when visiting the website, Google Analytics 4 sets cookies, which are small text files stored on your device and collect certain information. This information also includes your IP address, which, however, is truncated by Google to exclude direct personal identification.

The information is transmitted to Google’s servers and processed there. This may also involve transfers to Google LLC based in the USA.

Google uses the collected information on our behalf to evaluate your use of the website, compile reports on website activities for us, and provide other services related to website and internet usage. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics and truncated by Google is not merged with other Google data. The data collected through the use of Google Analytics 4 is stored for a duration of two months and then deleted.

All of the above-described processing, especially the setting of cookies on the used device, only occurs if you have given us your explicit consent according to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR. Without your consent, Google Analytics 4 will not be used during your visit to the site. You can revoke your consent at any time with future effect. To exercise your right of withdrawal, please deactivate this service via the “Cookie Consent Tool” provided on the website.

We have entered into a data processing agreement with Google that ensures the protection of our site visitors’ data and prohibits unauthorized disclosure to third parties.

Further legal information about Google Analytics 4 can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en and https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

Demographic Characteristics
Google Analytics 4 uses the special feature “demographic characteristics” to create statistics that provide information about the age, gender, and interests of site visitors. This is done by analyzing advertising and information from third-party providers. This allows target groups for marketing activities to be identified. However, the collected data cannot be attributed to any specific individual and is deleted after a storage period of two months.

Google Signals
As an extension to Google Analytics 4, Google Signals can be used on this website to create cross-device reports. If you have activated personalized ads and linked your devices to your Google account, Google can analyze your usage behavior across devices and create database models, including cross-device conversions, subject to your consent to the use of Google Analytics according to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR. We do not receive any personal data from Google, only statistics. If you want to stop the cross-device analysis, you can deactivate the “Personalized Advertising” function in the settings of your Google account. Follow the instructions on this page: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/2662922?hl=en Further information about Google Signals can be found at the following link: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7532985?hl=en

UserIDs
As an extension to Google Analytics 4, the “UserIDs” feature can be used on this website. If you have consented to the use of Google Analytics 4 according to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR, set up an account on this website, and sign in on various devices with this account, your activities, including conversions, can be analyzed across devices.

For data transfers to the USA, the provider has joined the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which ensures compliance with European data protection levels based on an adequacy decision by the European Commission.

 

10) Duration of Storage of Personal Data

The duration of the storage of personal data is determined by the respective legal retention period (e.g. commercial and tax retention periods). After expiry of this period, the corresponding data will be routinely deleted, provided they are no longer necessary for the performance or initiation of the contract and/or there is no longer any legitimate interest on our part in the further storage.