Privacy Policy of Andreas Stihl (Pty) Ltd

(Date: 12.01.2023)

Hereby we would like to inform you about the processing of personal data in accordance with the European General Data Protection Regulation also known as GDPR by Andreas Stihl (Pty) Ltd, 11 Barnsley Road, Campsdrift, 3201 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (hereinafter referred to as "STIHL"). In case you have any questions or comments on this data protection information, please feel free to send them to the e-mail address given in section 2.

1. Overview

The following data protection information informs you about the type and scope of processing of so-called personal data by STIHL. Personal data is information that is or can be directly or indirectly assigned to your person. 

2. Name and Contact Details of the Person Responsible and the Data Protection Officer

This data protection information applies to data processing by Andreas Stihl (Pty) Ltd, 11 Barnsley Road, Campsdrift, 3201 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa ("Person responsible") in the context of this website and the newsletter dispatch. The data protection officer of STIHL can be contacted at the previously given address, to the attention of the data protection department, or at info@stihl.co.za. 

3. Data Processing Purposes, Legal Bases and Legitimate Interests Pursued by STIHL or a Third Party as well as Categories of Recipients

3.1. Accessing our Website

When you call up our website, the browser used on your end device automatically sends information to the server of our website and temporarily stores it in a so-called log file. The following information is recorded without your intervention and stored until it is automatically deleted:

• the IP address of the requesting Internet-enabled device,
• the date and time of access,
• the name and URL of the retrieved file,
• the website from which the access was made (referrer URL),
• the browser you use and, if applicable, the operating system of your Internet-capable computer and the name of your access provider.

The legal basis for the processing of the IP address is Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest follows from the purposes of data collection listed below.

The IP address of your terminal device and the other data listed above are used by us for the following purposes:

• Ensuring a smooth connection establishment,
• Ensuring a comfortable use of our website/application,
• Evaluation of system security and stability.

The data is stored for a period of 7 days and then automatically deleted. In addition, we use so-called cookies, analysis tools and targeting procedures for our website, as explained in more detail in section 3.3 below.

3.2. Newsletter Distribution

On our website we offer you the possibility to register for our newsletter. In order to be sure that no mistakes have been made when entering your email address, we use the so-called double opt-in procedure: After you have entered your email address in the registration field, we will send you a confirmation link. Only when you click on this confirmation link will your email address be added to our mailing list. The processing of your electronic contact data at this point is based solely on your consent (Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. a GDPR). You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future. For this purpose, a brief note by e-mail to the e-mail address given under 2. is sufficient or you can click on the "Unsubscribe" button at the end of each newsletter. Insofar as you have provided your name or other optional information when registering for our newsletter, we process this data on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR) in an attractive presentation of our newsletter and exclusively for the purpose of addressing you personally and individualising the newsletter.

We would like to point out that during the newsletter dispatch we will carry out a performance measurement and evaluate your user behaviour. For this evaluation, the e-mails sent contain so-called web beacons or tracking pixels. These are located on our servers and provide us with information on when and how you access them. For the analysis we link the mentioned data and the web beacons with your e-mail address.

The data thus obtained enables us to tailor the newsletter to your individual interests. We collect basic information such as opening rate, information about when you read our newsletter, which links you click on and conclude from this your personal interests. The legal basis for this data processing is your consent, Art. 6 para. 1 S.1 lit. a GDPR. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future by clicking on the "Unsubscribe" button to unsubscribe from our newsletter.

Furthermore, such tracking is not possible if you have deactivated the display of images in your e-mail program by default. In this case the newsletter will not be displayed completely and you may not be able to use all functions. If you have the images displayed manually, the above-mentioned tracking will take place.

3.3. Online Presence and Website Optimization

3.3.1. Cookies – General Information

In order to make visiting our websites 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 device and enable us or our partner companies to recognize your browser the next time you visit us (so-called long-term cookies). Cookies can neither be used to access other files on your computer nor to determine your e-mail address.

This website uses the cookies listed in the cookie information.

Insofar as we use cookies that are absolutely necessary for the provision of our web pages, the legal basis for the processing of personal data using these cookies is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

Personal data is only processed by cookies for marketing purposes or for the compilation of statistics if you have given us your consent to do so. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.

You can revoke your consent at any time without giving reasons by clicking on the following link and adjusting the permitted functionalities.

Cookies are stored on your end device and you have full control over their use. You can deactivate or restrict the transmission of cookies by changing the settings of your Internet browser. Cookies already stored can be deleted at any time. This can also be done automatically. If cookies for our websites are deactivated, you may no longer be able to use all the functions of the websites to their full extent.

3.3.2. Web Analysis with Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google"). The responsible body for users in the EU/EEA and Switzerland is Google Ireland Limited, Google Building Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, Ireland, 1600. Google Analytics uses cookies that enable an analysis of your use of the website. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

The STIHL website uses Google Analytics with the extension "anonymous IP". This means that your IP address collected by the Google Analytics cookie will be shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area before being transferred to the USA. Only in exceptional cases the full IP address is transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.  On behalf of STIHL, Google uses this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activities and to provide further services to the website operator in connection with website and Internet use. The IP address transmitted by your browser in the context of Google Analytics is not merged with other Google data.

The legal basis for the processing of personal data using cookies is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. You can withdraw this consent at any time as described above by adjusting your cookie preferences.

You can also delete already stored cookies at any time in the settings of your browser. If you do so, you may no longer be able to use all functions of the web pages to their full extent.

You can find more detailed information on terms of use and data protection at www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html or at www.google.com/intl/us/analytics/privacyoverview.html.

3.3.3. Oracle Maxymiser

(1) We use the product Oracle Maxymiser from Oracle Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG, Riesstr. 25, 80992 Munich. For this purpose, cookies are set to enable an analysis of your use of the website. The information thus generated about your use of the website is transmitted to a server of Oracle Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG and stored there. Oracle Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG will use the anonymised or pseudonymised data transmitted on our behalf, in particular to evaluate user behaviour on our website and to optimise the website.

(2) As described under 3.3.6., the data described above will be combined and processed within the framework of CDP with the data described under 3.3.7., 3.3.10., 3.3.12. and 3.4.2. for the purposes stated.

(3) The Oracle Maxymiser is used exclusively with your consent in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a DSGVO. You can revoke your consent at any time by changing your cookie settings by clicking on the cookie symbol at the bottom left of our website.

(4) Furthermore, you can object to the collection and storage of your anonymised data by Oracle Maxymiser technology as well as the processing of this data at any time by clicking on the following link: https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/opt-status.html.

3.3.4. Oracle Eloqua 

We use the Eloqua service for optimal communication with our customers. The Eloqua servers of the provider ORACLE Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG, Riesstrasse 25, 80992 Munich are located in the EU. Within the scope of support and administration services, it cannot be ruled out in individual cases that individual employees of Oracle Corporation outside the EU may also have access to user data within the scope of their contractual service provision. As a precautionary measure, we have ensured an appropriate level of data protection at Oracle Corporation by means of sufficient guarantees pursuant to Art. 44 et seq. DSGVO.

Eloqua places a permanent cookie on the respective login page, unless an Eloqua cookie is already present on your device. If you have already used a website that uses Eloqua, you may already have an Eloqua cookie. We may use the Eloqua cookie to analyse your use of our sites so that we can continually improve them. Emails sent using Eloqua use tracking technologies.

We use this information primarily to determine what topics are of interest to you by tracking whether our emails are opened and what links you click. We then use this information to improve the emails we send you and the services we provide, and to link them to existing information.

This data processing only takes place if you have expressly consented to it beforehand. The legal basis is your consent pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a DSGVO. You can revoke your consent at any time by changing your cookie settings by clicking on the cookie symbol at the bottom left of our website.

3.3.5. Contact

If you contact us by telephone, e-mail, post, contact forms or in any other way with a request or we contact you, we also process your personal data e.g. name, address, telephone number as well as the contents of the message. This information is processed solely for the purpose of being able to process your request correctly. Your data will only be used to the extent necessary in each case. If necessary, e.g. because your inquiry concerns the ordering of printed matter held in stock by another company in the STIHL Group, or as part of the customer support service, your data will be passed on to this other company in the STIHL Group if and to the extent that this is necessary to process your request. The legal basis for the processing of the data described above is Art. 6 Par. 1 letter b GDPR, insofar as this is connected with the initiation or fulfilment of a contract with you, e.g. in the event of complaints, or on the basis of Art. 6 Par. 1 letter f GDPR, as we have a justified interest in corresponding with you in business matters.

Communication data will be deleted as far as they are no longer necessary for the exchange with you and any legal retention periods have expired.
Telephone conversations with our customer support will only be recorded for quality assurance or training purposes with your prior consent and will be deleted after a maximum of 90 days. Consent to the recording of telephone conversations is of course voluntary. You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future, for example by asking the employee on the telephone to stop the recording. Your data will be processed on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR).

For our customer support services, we use service providers with whom corresponding order processing contracts have been concluded in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR.

4. Data Transmission

Certain processing activities, such as customer support, are carried out by companies within the STIHL Group. Therefore, data is regularly transferred within the group of companies. As a rule, the transfer takes place on the basis of a contract processing agreement. In other cases, for example for the analysis of aggregated data for the purpose of market research, Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO is the legal basis for the transfer, whereby our legitimate interest lies in the efficient design of our processes.

If we transfer your data to recipients located outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, the data transfer will take place on the basis of an adequacy decision of the EU Commission or on the basis of suitable guarantees, in particular so-called standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission.

5. Your Rights

5.1. Overview

In addition to the right to revoke your consents granted to us, you are entitled to the following further rights if the respective legal requirements are met:

• Right to information about your personal data stored with us in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR; 
• Right to correction of incorrect data or to completion of correct data according to Art. 16 GDPR,
• Right to delete your data stored with us in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR insofar as no legal or contractual retention periods or other legal obligations or rights to further storage must be observed, 
• Right to limit the processing of your data in accordance with art. 18 GDPR,
• Right to data transferability according to Art. 20 GDPR,
• Right to appeal to a supervisory authority.

5.2. Right of Objection

Under the conditions of Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR, data processing may be objected to for reasons arising from the specific situation of the person concerned.

The above general right of objection applies to all processing purposes described in this data protection information which are processed on the basis of Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. f GDPR. In contrast to the special right of objection directed at data processing for advertising purposes, we are only obliged under the GDPR to implement such a general right of objection if you give us reasons of overriding importance.

6. Amendments to this Declaration

We will revise this privacy statement whenever there are changes to this website or other occasions when this becomes necessary. You will always find the current version on this website. You should therefore visit this website regularly to find out about the current status of the data protection declaration.