Privacy and cookie statement

Privacy policy for customers / website visitors, and cookie policy for website visitors

Alfen B.V.
Hefbrugweg 79
1332 AM Almere
Alfen ICU B.V.
Hefbrugweg 79
1332 AM Almere
Alfen Projects B.V.
Hefbrugweg 79
1332 AM Almere
Alfen BVBA
Wittewalle 1E
9000 Gent - België

The Controller (the 'Verwerkingsverantwoordelijke') under the General Data Protection Regulation (the 'AVG'), hereinafter referred to as 'Alfen'.


A. PERSONAL DATA

1. Introduction

Alfen respects the privacy of its customers, the users of its products and the visitors to its website. Alfen treats all personal data in keeping with the applicable rules and regulations, in particular in alignment with the General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR or 'AVG').

The Alfen privacy policy informs you about the way the company handles your personal data. You can see from this policy how Alfen treats the personal data you have entrusted to us, who is the recipient of this data, the way in which the data has been obtained and the underlying rationale, the purposes for which the personal data can be used, how you can access your data and how you can submit a request for the content to be amended or removed.

2. Responsible party

This privacy policy applies to the processing of personal data by Alfen B.V. and its sister companies Alfen ICU B.V., Alfen Projects B.V. and Alfen BVBA, hereinafter referred to as ‘Alfen’. The party responsible for the processing of personal data is in principle Alfen B.V., unless another sister company was the recipient of this information, in which case the sister company is the responsible party.
Should you have any questions with respect to Alfen's privacy policy or about the way in which it processes your personal data, including a request for access, amendment or deletion of data, please email us at: privacy@alfen.com. You can also reach out to Alfen by sending a letter to Alfen B.V., c/o 'Privacy', P.O. Box 1042, 1300 BA Almere.

Alfen has not appointed a data protection officer.

3. Receipt

Alfen comes into possession of your personal data if you complete one of the forms on our website, if you fill in your contact details on a questionnaire or via email, if you place an order on our site, if you make use of the range of Alfen services or certain products and/or if you send us an email or call us or make contact with an Alfen employee in any other way, including at a trade fair or at an event.

4. Personal data

In principle, you do not need to share any personal data with Alfen to make use of the majority of the services on our website.
For the purposes stated under '5. Purposes', Alfen can collect and process the following categories of personal data from you:
a. Name and address details;
b. Contact information such as your email address and telephone number;
c. The company for which you are working;
d. Your CV and other information that you have provided should you submit an unsolicited application via our website;
e. Other specific data in the event that you have supplied this information while completing a questionnaire. You can also share additional information with us by filling in certain forms on the website. This procedure applies should you have made contact with Alfen in any other way, such as by email or telephone, at a trade fair or during other events.
Alfen can also collect and process information you have supplied on our website or via the device that you used to visit our website. This information can include:
a. Location data;
b. Information from cookies (see for further information the section below on Alfen's cookie policy);
c. Data from other websites, for example when you visit Alfen's website via Facebook (for the sake of completeness Alfen would like to highlight the privacy statements issued by these parties. Alfen is not responsible for this third-party content. Should you end up on the website of a third party through the Alfen website, review carefully the privacy statement and other conditions as disclosed by these third parties).
d. Telephone conversations that are recorded for staff training purposes.

5. Legal grounds and purposes

The personal data referred to above can be processed on the basis of one of the following grounds:
a. You have granted processing permission pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) GDPR; or
b. Processing is required for the execution of an agreement to which you are party [Article 6(1)(b) GDPR]; or
c. Processing is required to comply with legal obligations incumbent upon Alfen [Article 6(1)(c) GDPR].
Under '4. Personal data', Alfen collects information you have submitted in order to provide better customer service. A more specific description illustrates how the personal data is collected and for what purposes:
a. In order to respond to your questions about our products or services and to share information with you pertaining to our products or services;
b. In order to deliver the products or services you have ordered;
c. In order to verify that your identity and financial details are correct in connection with the delivery of our products or services;
d. In order to enhance our product and services portfolio;
e. In order to look into any complaints about our products or services and take appropriate action;
f. In order to comply with legal obligations and to fulfil commitments emanating from compliance.
g. In order to send emails with information or special offers related to our products and services that may well be interesting for you;
h. In order to assess if you are the kind of person we would like to recruit for our organisation, should you submit an unsolicited application on our website.

6. Recipients of your personal data 

Alfen can share your personal data with:
a. Group sister companies, as set forth in '2. Responsible parties';
b. Third parties with whom you have requested we share your personal data in order to facilitate account connection;
c. Resellers of Alfen products, should you as a private individual wish to procure an Alfen product via our website.
 
It can occur that Alfen shares personal data with third parties that assist Alfen with respect to its products and services, such as hosting the Alfen website, developing questionnaires, providing data analysis and in the provision of marketing support and customer service. Only in the event that it is absolutely crucial for the execution of their work on our behalf will these third parties be granted access to your personal data. Third parties with whom Alfen shares your personal data are explicitly forbidden to use this information for purposes that are not in conformity with the agreement between Alfen and the third party in question.
 
Alfen will not sell your personal data to third parties or make it available in any other way for financial gain.
Should any activities that take place within Alfen group entities be in the process of being sold or transferred to another company, it is conceivable that your personal data will be made available to the advisers of a potential buyer. In the abovementioned case, this privacy policy applies to your personal data. Disclosure based on the objective mentioned above will of course only take place after appropriate precautions have been adopted to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of your personal data.

In principle, Alfen will not share your personal data with countries outside the European Economic Area (the 'EER'). In any case, Alfen will not disclose your personal data to third parties located outside the European Economic Area. However, it is not always possible to verify where certain data is actually stored (consider back-up servers, for example). In these cases too, Alfen will protect your personal data by concluding processing agreements with third parties that process your personal data and in which obligations pursuant to the GDPR are transferred to these third parties.

7. Your rights

Alfen implements its privacy policy primarily to inform you as comprehensively as possible about the way in which it processes your personal data. Alfen however fully understands that you may have additional questions or require clarification on a particular policy aspect. Should you have any queries, please address them to this e-mail address: privacy@alfen.com. You can also reach out to Alfen by sending a letter to Alfen B.V., c/o 'Privacy', P.O. Box 1042, 1300 BA Almere. Moreover, this channel also opens other opportunities.
You are for example entitled to review your own personal data or to apply for a copy of your personal data and/or to have your data amended should it be incorrect or incomplete. Furthermore, you are entitled to limit your personal data or to lodge an appeal against the way in which your personal data is processed. In addition, you have the right to express your wish that your personal data is deleted. Should you have granted your approval to receive Alfen e-mail, you may always unsubscribe by clicking on the appropriate link.
When submitting a request to Alfen, the company can ask you to reveal your identity in order to ascertain if the request is legitimate.
Alfen may turn down your request in the event that perusal of that information breaches the right to the privacy of third parties, or due to protection of trade and company secrets, or to safeguard intellectual property. Should your personal data be required to comply with a contractual agreement or legal obligation, it is conceivable that Alfen may not (yet) remove that information. You are entitled to submit a complaint to the personal data authority (the 'Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens').

8. Retention period

Alfen stores your personal data only for as long as necessary to facilitate the goal for which it was collected in the first place. Should Alfen have received your data in the course of a contractual agreement, the information will be stored only for so long as it is necessary to comply with the terms and conditions of the agreement. Assuming your data has been obtained with your permission, the information will be retained until you withdraw your authorisation or until the data is no longer needed to facilitate the goal for which it was collected in the first place.

In exceptional cases, personal data will be retained for a longer period in connection with legal obligations.

9. Warranties

Alfen attaches great importance to the careful handling of your personal data. Alfen cannot fully guarantee that it is impossible for unauthorised third parties to find a workaround and bypass the security measures the company has taken. The internet is of course an open system, but Alfen takes all appropriate technical and organisational precautions to ensure your personal data is protected and secured, primarily against loss, adaptation or unlawful access.
Alfen has restricted access to your personal data. Care is taken to ensure that the only personal data shared is essential to realise a set of specific objectives. Individuals who have access to your personal data have been briefed as to the sensitivity of the material and informed about the care with which the information should be treated. They are also subject to a duty of confidentiality to safeguard the integrity, trust and discretion of your data. 

Should you end up on third-party websites via the Alfen website, we would highly recommend that you review the privacy policies of these third-party sites. It goes without saying that Alfen is not responsible for the policies of third parties.

10. Amendments

Alfen reserves the right to adjust its privacy policy in the event that company policy is adapted relative to processing personal data. At the moment of amendment, the new privacy policy becomes automatically effective and replaces the previous version of the privacy policy. Alfen advises you to take frequent notice of its privacy policy, as adjustments can be processed at any time.

B. COOKIES

1. Introduction

Whenever you visit a website, cookies are placed on your computer, laptop, tablet or telephone. Cookies are text files that contain a tiny piece of information. The server sends the cookie to the browser, so that the server can identify the browser on every website page. Alfen too uses cookies in order to gain insight into your preferences. Some Alfen website functionalities can only be accessed if you actually accept cookies. In so far that cookies contain identifiable data - by that we mean that they can be traced back to one person - Alfen's privacy policy applies.

2. Kinds of cookies

a. Technical cookies
Alfen's website makes use of technical cookies. These cookies are indispensable to the working of the Alfen website, for example in the creation of an account or even to simply log in.
b. Functional cookies
Alfen's website makes use of functional cookies. By placing these cookies, Alfen recognises your computer or any other device such as a smartphone or tablet. Without these cookies, certain website domains and functionalities could not be accessed as they should be. These cookies are placed to recognise certain preferences and settings, for example your personal preferences with respect to acceptance or otherwise of cookies, the country from which you are visiting the website, the website's language of choice, etc. These cookies can be used to facilitate your visit to the Alfen website. 
The Alfen website also makes use of third party material. This material originates from another source and is placed on the Alfen website with the help of a code. Consider in this respect YouTube videos, for example. These codes also make use of cookies, so that the content can be presented to you in correct fashion. For the sake of completeness, Alfen points out the cookie policy that these parties pursue.
c. Analytical cookies
The Alfen website makes use of analytical cookies via Google Analytics. These cookies gather anonymous information about the way visitors use the website. An example is the way in which website visitor statistics are logged so that it becomes clear how you found your way to - and used - the Alfen website, so that the company can gain a better understanding of the way the website functions.
d. Performance cookies
The Alfen website makes use of performance cookies to review if an advertisement had led to a sale or an application to buy.
e. Tracking cookies 
Alfen's website makes use of tracking cookies. These cookies collect information about the way you use the internet in order to match advertisements with your preferences and to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. These cookies are typically placed by a third party, often an advertising network.
Moreover, the Alfen website makes use of tracking cookies that are placed on the site to identify an internet user. General knowledge can be gained about the way in which a website is used thanks to the pages visited, whereby information can be acquired about your areas of interest.
f. Social media cookies 
The Alfen website makes use of social media cookies. In this way, you can share items from the website on social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter. These cookies are not within Alfen's direct span of control, so we would recommend that you review carefully the privacy policy of the relevant social media providers.

3. Cookie removal

You can refuse cookies if you so desire. You can do this via the 'Settings' option in your internet browser. If you are using numerous browsers, you should systematically refuse cookies on every browser.
Some cookies remove themselves automatically when you shut down your web browser - session cookies, for example. Other cookies remain in place until they expire or until they are actively removed. Active removal of cookies can be performed by your web browser. How cookies can best be removed differs from web browser to web browser.
Take into account that it is possible that certain functionalities or parts of the Alfen website may no longer be accessed or operational in the event that cookies are removed. Google Analytics is a feature of the Alfen website. You can deactivate Google Analytics by downloading a tool via Google and consulting the following page: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=nl

4. Web markers

Alfen's website pages may contain so-called 'web markers'. These web markers are a kind of electronic illustration that registers how many users have visited a particular page. These web markers are used to monitor the effectiveness of a campaign.