Festo data privacy declaration

We want you to feel secure and at ease as you collaborate successfully with Festo. We also want to meet your needs and be a reliable partner when it comes to protecting your personal data.

When we talk about data privacy, this refers to personal data. This is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject).

As a worldwide leader in the field of automation technology, and a global leader for basic and further technical training, we process personal data on a daily basis. In doing so, we comply with all national and international data privacy regulations, most notably the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

If any gender-specific language appears in this document, this is purely to simplify the language. The information relates to all genders equally.
1 Controller

Responsible body
Festo SE & Co. KG (Festo)
Ruiter Straße 82
D-73734 Esslingen

Data privacy officer
Festo SE & Co. KG
Harald Glaser
2 Groups of persons, purposes and data categories

Festo processes personal data relating to different groups of persons for different purposes. We would be happy to tell you about the situations in which your data is gathered, saved and processed as part of our collaborative work.

2.1 When using our online platforms

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
Festo provides various appealing online functions for you, which can support you in your day-to-day work in numerous ways. For these, we use personal data to determine your identity and to allow user authentication, e.g. to make your selected services and functions available to you from the Festo online platforms.

In addition, we also process personal data for security reasons, particularly to detect and prevent attacks on our websites or fraud attempts.

Data categories
When you use our websites, web applications or online tools, we save the following personal data, for example:
The type of device, browser and operating system that you used
Your IP address
The date and time of your visits
Use of the websites and their functions
Search terms, error messages, information about files that you have retrieved and the amount of data transmitted
Websites that you used to reach our websites and websites that you visited from our websites

We only save other personal data, such as:
  • First name and last name
  • Business contact details, such as e-mail address and telephone number
  • Information specified as part of an enquiry
if you voluntarily share this data with us, e.g. as part of the registration process, an enquiry, a contact form, a survey or to perform a contract.

Cookies
To gather this data, we use cookies on our Festo online platforms. You can find more information about how Festo uses cookies in our cookie policy. This also explains how you can object to the use of cookies and the processing of the data obtained via cookies.

For your searches on Festo websites, you only need to set your cookie setting once! Your consents are stored and applied to all websites for different devices.

Web tools
Information on web tools used by Festo can be found under Web tools.

Links to other websites
This data privacy statement only applies to Festo online platforms and not to third-party websites and applications. Festo online platforms may contain links to third-party websites and applications that may be of interest to you.

Festo is not responsible for the gathering, processing and use of your data by third parties or for the content of these third-party websites.
2.2 When using mobile apps or local applications

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
Festo offers a multitude of applications that you can use on end devices, such as laptops, tablets or smartphones, and that can support you in carrying out your tasks efficiently and securely. Interesting functions can be set up and controlled using personal data.

If special functions and benefits are integrated into tools, you will find information about these in the additional data privacy statement for the application in question.

Festo can only access content and personal data in the applications during service and maintenance work.

Data categories
  • Contact information, such as first name and last name, business address, telephone number and e-mail address
  • User-specific settings, such as favourites
  • Roles and role-specific settings
2.3 In collaborative projects with business partners

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
Good business relationships are based on good communication between the right contact partners and the necessary information being exchanged effectively. We use your personal data to communicate with you regarding products, services and projects, e.g. to process your enquiries or to give you technical information about products. We also use your personal data to maintain our (contractual) business relationship, e.g. to process product and service orders, to carry out repairs or servicing work, and for accounting, invoicing and payment purposes.

Data categories
As part of our collaborative work with you as a business partner, Festo processes your personal data as a contact person for customers, interested parties, sales partners, suppliers or other partners.

Essentially, this is as follows:
  • Contact information, such as first name and last name, business address, telephone number and e-mail address
  • Information about telephone calls, visits, exchanges and the content of this communication
  • Information required as part of a project or to process a contractual relationship
  • Data collected from publicly available sources, information databases or credit agencies
  • If legally required as part of the compliance screening process, date of birth, ID card and ID card numbers, information about relevant legal proceedings and other legal disputes in which the business partners are involved
  • Payment details, such as information for processing payment transactions or to prevent fraud, including credit card information and card security numbers
2.4 For collaboration between Festo and business partners

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
Modern electronic methods of communication offer tools that make it possible to collaborate effectively and to exchange information and data quickly and simply. When such tools are used, personal data can be processed for identification purposes and to document this contact.

Data categories
In online sessions and with similar functions, various pieces of personal data may be processed, including but not limited to:
  • Contact details (name, e-mail, company, etc.)
  • All information from the general exchange
  • Access rights
  • Comments and notes
  • Processing of documents
  • Usage information such as date and time
2.5 For direct marketing

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
Festo informs you about important market trends, interesting new products and solutions based on your sector and your selected interests. In addition, you receive information about marketing campaigns, market analyses or similar initiatives and events.
You have the right to object to the use of your contact details for these purposes at any time. To do so, send an e-mail to info@festo.com or use the objection option included in all communications of this kind.

Data categories
To provide you with information in line with your wants and needs, we collect various pieces of personal data as part of our direct marketing campaigns, including:
  • Contact information, such as first name and last name, business address, telephone number and e-mail address
  • Your selected options for newsletters and areas of interest
  • Information about trade fair visits, participation in webinars or similar
  • All information that you have shared voluntarily, as long as you consent to this
2.6 For planning and holding events

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
At Festo, we like to give you up-to-date information about our performance, our attractive offerings and interesting trends. At various events, we give you the opportunity to chat to Festo specialists or other interested parties and trendsetters. To ensure that we can create an experience that is beneficial for you, it is important for us to be able to adapt to your wants and needs.

Data categories
To hold an interesting and successful event, we need various pieces of personal information.

Depending on the type and location of the event, we process the following, for example:
  • Contact information, such as first name and last name, business address, telephone number and e-mail address
  • Data for organising the event, such as invitations, personal requests or travel details
  • Documentation regarding your attendance and about safety briefings carried out
  • Vehicle registration number for access and parking permits
  • Photo and video records for publication and documentation
2.7 For satisfaction surveys

The benefits for you / the purposes for us
Good information and a good understanding of the needs and requirements form the basis for the further development of Festo services. Within the scope of the applicable legislation, Festo may also use your business contact details to carry out customer satisfaction surveys.

You have the right to object to the use of your contact details for these purposes at any time. To do so, send an e-mail to info@festo.com or use the objection option included in this communication.

Data categories
We will inform you specifically about the anonymity of your responses depending on the type and objective of the survey.
If surveys cannot be carried out anonymously, various pieces of personal data will be processed, such as:
  • Contact data, such as first and last name, e-mail address and telephone number
  • For specific surveys or differentiated analyses, we process commercial information, such as departments or management responsibility
  • The basis for the survey can be your feedback on a specific business process
3 Legal bases for processing personal data

We only process personal data that is required for the benefit provided and the purposes specified.

When personal data is gathered, the legal basis for processing personal data is as follows unless otherwise specified:
  • The execution and fulfilment of a contract or precontractual measures with you (as per Article 6(1b) GDPR)
  • The fulfilment of legal obligations to which Festo is party (as per Article 6(1c) GDPR)
  • The preservation of legitimate interests of Festo (as per Article 6(1f) GDPR)
If you have expressly granted us consent to process your personal data on an individual basis, this consent forms the legal basis for processing (Article 6(1a) GDPR). This consent is granted voluntarily and can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future.
4 Transferring personal data

4.1 Transfer of data by Festo during processing
If necessary, Festo transfers personal data to:
  • Internal departments
  • Other Festo subsidiaries or other third parties. For example, sales partners or suppliers if this is required for the quote or initiation, execution or processing of the business relationship
  • Service providers who process personal data as part of their service provision, e.g. service providers for IT security maintenance activities or event management
  • Third parties if this is required for compliance with applicable laws or for legal claims, e.g. in conjunction with arbitration or legal proceedings, involving authorities, administrative bodies, health insurance schemes or legal counsel
If recipients are based outside the geographic scope of the GDPR, Festo will take action to ensure that your personal data is protected suitably and appropriately in some other way:
  • We therefore only pass your personal information on to Festo subsidiaries on the basis of the Binding Corporate Rules (BCR), with which the members of the Festo Group are obligated to comply.
  • Personal data is only transferred to recipients outside the group if these (i) have concluded Standard EU contract clauses with Festo; (ii) have introduced Binding Corporate Rules; or, (iii) for recipients based in the USA, are certified under the EU/US Privacy Shield.

Personal data that you publish via Festo online platforms (e.g. in chatrooms or forums) may be accessible to other users of the Festo online platform globally.

 
4.2 Social plugins

Festo has integrated social plugins for social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram on its websites. If you select one of these social plugins, a direct connection will be established with this provider and your data will be processed by it. If are logged into your user account at this time, the provider can assign your visit to our websites to your user account.

The data privacy provisions of the network in question apply exclusively to your connection to a social network, the data transfers made between the network and your system and your interactions on this platform. The social plugin will remain active until you deactivate it or delete your cookies.

5 Storage of personal data

If a specific retention period is not specified when the data is gathered, your personal data will be deleted after a defined period of time if it is no longer required to fulfil the purpose, unless legal retention obligations (e.g. retention obligations relating to commercial and tax law) prevent this.

6 Data security

Festo takes the necessary technical and organisational measures to ensure that your personal data is adequately protected.

7 Option to withdraw consent

If our processing of your personal data is based on your consent for us to do so, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time with effect for the future.
The withdrawal does not affect the legality of any processing that took place based on your consent before the withdrawal.
8 Your rights as a data subject

Under the GDPR, as a data subject, you have the following rights in relation to the processing of your personal data:
  • To receive confirmation as to whether Festo processes personal data about you and information about the personal data processed by Festo
  • To correct any personal data that is incorrect
  • To have the personal data processed by Festo deleted
  • To restrict the processing of personal data by Festo
  • To transfer the data
  • To object to the processing of personal data by Festo

You can find more information and explanations relating to the aforementioned rights on the European Commission’s Rights for citizens webpage.
9 Contact person for data privacy at Festo

The Festo data privacy organisation will support you with any questions you have on data privacy at Festo. You can submit your complaints relating to Festo and assert your rights as specified in this data privacy statement.

You can contact our data privacy organisation and our data privacy officer at datenschutz@festo.com.

Festo’s data privacy organisation will take care of your enquiries and complaints as quickly as possible. In addition to getting in touch with Festo’s data privacy organisation, you also have the option to contact the relevant data privacy authority.

You can view the national and international data privacy authorities here.
10 Automated technologies or interactions.

As you interact with our websites and with emails received from us, we may automatically collect Technical and Usage Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. Please refer to our cookie policy for further details.

We use the Eloqua service to provide you with an optimal offer for your needs. The Eloqua servers of the provider ORACLE Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG, Riesstrasse 25, 80992 Munich, Germany are located in the EU. With your consent, Festo will activate an Eloqua cookie in order to analyse and improve the content we offer you. Interactions with our emails and website help us to identify your interests and provide you relevant information. You can manage Festo cookies by clicking here.