Privacy Policy

Sekels GmbH
Dieselstraße 6
61239 Ober-Mörlen
Germany

Tel. +49 (0) 6002 93790
Fax. +49 (0) 6002 937979
E-Mail: mail(at)sekels.de

Managing Directors: Dietrich Sekels, Stefan Becker, Dr. Stefan Hiebel
Registration Court: Amtsgericht Friedberg HRB 5995
Value Added Tax Number (V.A.T.) according to §27 a tax law: DE158766557

Data protection officer:
Susanne Bach
sbach(at)sekels.de

It is possible to use our website without providing personal data. Different regulations may apply to the use of individual services on our website, which are explained separately below. Your personal data (e.g., name, address, e-mail, telephone number, etc.) will only be processed by us in accordance with the provisions of German data protection law. Data is personal if it can be clearly assigned to a specific natural person. The legal basis for data protection can be found in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this respect, the following regulations inform you about the type, scope and purpose of the collection, use and processing of personal data by the provider.

1. basic information on data processing and legal bases

1.1 This privacy policy explains the nature, scope, and purpose of the processing of personal data within our online offering and the associated websites, functions, and content (hereinafter collectively referred to as "online offering" or "website"). The privacy policy applies regardless of the domains, systems, platforms, and devices (e.g., desktop or mobile) on which the online offer is executed.

1.2 We refer to the definitions in Art. 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the terms used, such as "personal data" or their "processing".

1.3 The personal data of users processed in the context of this online offer includes inventory data (e.g., names and addresses of customers), contract data (e.g., services used, names of clerks, payment information), usage data (e.g., the websites visited on our online offer, interest in our products) and content data (e.g., entries in the contact form).

1.4 The term "user" includes all categories of data subjects affected by data processing. These include our business partners, customers, interested parties and other visitors to our online offering. The terms used, such as "user", are to be understood as gender neutral.

1.5 We only process users' personal data in compliance with the relevant data protection regulations. This means that user data will only be processed if we are legally authorized to do so. This means, in particular, if the data processing is necessary for the provision of our contractual services (e.g., processing of orders) and online services, or is required by law, if the user has given their consent, as well as on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation and security of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR, when measuring reach, creating profiles for advertising and marketing purposes and collecting access data and using the services of third-party providers.

1.6 We would like to point out that the legal basis for consent is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a. and Art. 7 GDPR, the legal basis for processing for the fulfilment of our services and implementation of contractual measures is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. GDPR, the legal basis for processing to fulfil our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. GDPR. GDPR, the legal basis for processing for the fulfilment of our legal obligations Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. GDPR, and the legal basis for the processing for the protection of our legitimate interests Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR is.

2. safety measures

2.1 We take organizational, contractual, and technical security measures in accordance with the state of the art to ensure that the provisions of data protection laws are complied with and to protect the data processed by us against accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction or access by unauthorized persons.

2.2 The security measures include the encrypted transmission of data between your browser and our server.
Our website uses SSL encryption when it comes to the transmission of confidential or personal content of our users. This encryption is activated, for example, when processing payment transactions and for enquiries that you send to us via our website. Please make sure that SSL encryption is activated on your side for corresponding activities. The use of encryption is easy to recognize: The display in your browser line changes from "http://" to "https://". Data encrypted via SSL cannot be read by third parties. Only transmit your confidential information if SSL encryption is activated and contact us if in doubt.

3. transfer of data to third parties and third-party providers

3.1 Your data will only be used by us within Sekels GmbH and its affiliated companies within the Sekels Group. We will only pass on your data to other third parties to the extent described below.

3.2 Data will only be passed on to third parties within the framework of the legal requirements. We only pass on user data to third parties if this is necessary, for example, based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR for contractual purposes or based on legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR in the economic and effective operation of our business operations.

3.3 If we use subcontractors to provide our services, we take appropriate legal precautions and corresponding technical and organizational measures to ensure the protection of personal data in accordance with the relevant legal regulations.

3.4 If content, tools, or other means from other providers (hereinafter jointly referred to as "third-party providers") are used within the scope of this privacy policy and their registered office is in a third country, it must be assumed that data is transferred to the countries in which the third-party providers are based. Third countries are countries in which the GDPR is not directly applicable law, i.e., generally countries outside the EU or the European Economic Area. The transfer of data to third countries takes place either if there is an adequate level of data protection, user consent or another legal authorization.

4. provision of contractual services

4.1 We process inventory data (e.g., names and addresses as well as contact data of users), contract data (e.g., services used, names of contact persons, payment information) for the purpose of fulfilling our contractual obligations and services in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. GDPR. GDPR.

4.2 If you wish to use the fee-based services offered on our website, we may need to collect additional data from you for billing purposes and for security reasons. This usually involves your name, a valid e-mail address and, if applicable, your address and telephone number and, depending on the individual case, other information. This may also involve content that allows us to verify the data provided, such as your ownership of the email address provided. For legal reasons, we must ensure that you wish to receive the services offered and that we can properly invoice you for the service. We work with the SSL encryption standard in payment transactions to secure your data, recognizable by the browser line "https://".

4.3 Users can optionally create a user account in which they can view their orders. As part of the registration process, users will be provided with the required mandatory information. The user accounts are not public and cannot be indexed by search engines. If users have cancelled their user account, their data will be deleted regarding the user account, subject to their retention is necessary for commercial or tax law reasons in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR. It is the responsibility of users to back up their data before the end of the contract in the event of cancellation. We are authorized to irretrievably delete all user data stored during the term of the contract.

4.4 In the context of registration and renewed logins as well as the use of our online services, we store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. This data is stored based on our legitimate interests and those of the user in protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. This data is not passed on to third parties unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR.

4.5 We process usage data (e.g., the websites visited on our online offering, interest in our products) and content data (e.g., entries in the contact form or user profile) for advertising purposes in a user profile, e.g., to display product information to users based on the services they have used to date.

5. making contact

5.1 When contacting us (via contact form or e-mail), the user's details are processed to process the contact enquiry and its handling in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR.

5.2 If you send us enquiries via the contact form, your details from the enquiry form, including the contact data you provide there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the enquiry and in the event of follow-up questions. We will not pass on this data without your consent.

This data is processed based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR if your enquiry is related to the fulfilment of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the enquiries addressed to us (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) if this has been requested; consent can be revoked at any time.

We will retain the data you provide on the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g., after fulfilling your request). Mandatory statutory provisions - in particular retention periods - remain unaffected. Enquiry by e-mail, telephone, or fax.
If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your enquiry including all personal data (name, enquiry) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We will not pass on this data without your consent.

The data you send to us via contact requests will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage or the purpose for data storage no longer applies (e.g., after your request has been processed).

Mandatory statutory provisions - in particular statutory retention periods - remain unaffected.

5.3 User data may be stored in our Customer Relationship Management System ("CRM System") or a comparable enquiry organization.

6. collection of access data and log files

6.1 On the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR. GDPR, we collect data about every access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user's operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.

6.2 Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g., to investigate misuse or fraud) for a maximum period of seven days and then deleted. Data whose further storage is required for evidentiary purposes is excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified.

7. cookies & reach measurement

7.1 Cookies are information that is transferred from our web server or third-party web servers to the user's web browser and stored there for later retrieval. Cookies may be small files or other types of information storage.

7.2 We use "session cookies", which are only stored for the duration of the current visit to our online presence (e.g., to enable the storage of your login status or the shopping basket function and thus the use of our online offer at all). A randomly generated unique identification number, a so-called session ID, is stored in a session cookie. A cookie also contains information about its origin and the storage period. These cookies cannot store any other data. Session cookies are deleted when you have finished using our website and, for example, log out or close the browser.

7.3 Users are informed about the use of cookies in the context of pseudonymous reach measurement as part of this privacy policy.

7.4 If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser at. Saved cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.

7.5 You can object to the use of cookies for reach measurement and advertising purposes via the deactivation page of the network advertising initiative (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) and additionally the US website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices) or the European website (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/).

8. web analytics: Matomo with anonymization function

8.1 With your consent, we use the open-source software Matomo to analyze and statistically evaluate the use of the website. Cookies are used for this purpose. The information obtained about website usage is transmitted exclusively to a GDPR-compliant server of our hoster in the EU and summarized in pseudonymous usage profiles. Matomo cookies remain on your end device until you delete them. We use the data to analyze the use of the website. We see this analysis as part of our internet service. In this way, we aim to further improve the website and customize it even more to the needs of users.

The IP addresses are anonymized (IP masking) so that they cannot be assigned to individual users.

The data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR. In doing so, we are pursuing our legitimate interest in optimizing our website for our public image.

You can revoke your consent at any time by deleting the cookies in your browser or changing your data protection settings.

9. integration of third-party services and content

9.1 On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e., interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR), we use content or service offers from third-party providers within our online offer. GDPR) content or service offers from third-party providers to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as "content"). This always presupposes that the third-party providers of this content recognize the IP address of the user, as they would not be able to send the content to their browser without the IP address. The IP address is therefore required to display this content. We endeavor to only use content whose respective providers only use the IP address to deliver the content. Third-party providers may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as "web beacons") for statistical or marketing purposes. Pixel tags can be used to analyze information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user's device and may contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as being linked to such information from other sources.

9.2 The following lists provide an overview of third-party providers and their content, together with links to their data protection declarations, which contain further information on the processing of data and, in some cases already mentioned here, options for objection (so-called opt-out):

10. rights of the users

10.1 Users have the right, upon request and free of charge, to receive information about the personal data that we have stored about them.

10.2 In addition, users have the right to rectification of inaccurate data, restriction of processing and erasure of their personal data, if applicable, to assert their rights to data portability and, in the event of the assumption of unlawful data processing, to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

10.3 Users can also revoke their consent, in principle with effect for the future.

11. deletion of data

11.1 The data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations. If the user's data is not deleted because it is required for other and legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted. This means that the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to user data that must be retained for commercial or tax law reasons.

11.2 In accordance with legal requirements, storage is carried out for 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 HGB (trading books, inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, commercial letters, accounting documents, etc.) and for 10 years in accordance with § 147 para. 1 AO (books, records, management reports, accounting documents, commercial and business letters, documents relevant for taxation, etc.).

12. right of objection

Users can object to the future processing of their personal data in accordance with the legal requirements at any time. The objection can be made against processing for direct marketing purposes.

13. changes to the privacy policy

13.1 We reserve the right to amend the privacy policy to adapt it to changed legal situations or in the event of changes to the service and data processing. However, this only applies with regard to declarations on data processing. If user consent is required or components of the data protection declaration contain provisions of the contractual relationship with the users, the changes will only be made with the consent of the users.

13.2 Users are requested to inform themselves regularly about the content of the privacy policy.