Data protection

Name and contact of the controller pursuant to Article 4 (7) GDPR

Company: Thees Dammtec GmbH Managing directors: Guido Thees, Heinrich Thees Address: Bergstr. 3, 49377 Vechta Telephone: +49 151 19328052 E-mail: info@thees-dammtec.de

Data protection officer

We have not appointed a data protection officer, because the legal requirements for doing so (section 38 of the German Federal Data Protection Act, BDSG) are not met. The contact person for all questions on data protection is Guido Thees (contact details above).

Security and Protection of Your Personal Data

We consider it our primary duty to maintain the confidentiality of the personal data you provide and to protect it from unauthorized access. That is why we apply the utmost care and the latest security standards to ensure maximum protection of your personal data.

As a private-law company, we are subject to the provisions of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the regulations of the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). We have implemented technical and organizational measures to ensure that the data protection regulations are observed by both us and our external service providers.

Definitions

The legislator requires that personal data be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a manner that is transparent to the data subject (“lawfulness, fairness, transparency”). To ensure this, we inform you about the individual legal definitions that are also used in this privacy policy:

  • “Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “data subject”); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more specific characteristics of physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
  • “Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
  • “Restriction of processing” means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future.
  • “Profiling” means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements of that natural person.
  • “Pseudonymization” means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.
  • “Filing system” means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, regardless of whether the collection is structured centrally, decentrally or functionally or geographically.
  • “Controller” means a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; if the purposes and means of processing are determined by EU law or the law of the Member States, the controller or the criteria for their appointment may be provided for by Union or Member State law.
  • “Processor” means a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.
  • “Recipient” means a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body to which personal data is disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities that may receive personal data in the context of a specific inquiry under Union or Member State law are not to be regarded as recipients; the processing of such data by the said authorities must comply with data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing.
  • “Third party” means a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons authorized to process personal data under the direct authority of the controller or processor.
  • “Consent” of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which they, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signify agreement to the processing of personal data relating to them.

    • Lawfulness of Processing

    The processing of personal data is only lawful if there is a legal basis for the processing. Legal basis for the processing can in particular be the following under Art. 6(1)(a)–(f) GDPR:

  • The data subject has given consent to the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes;
  • processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;
  • processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
  • processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person;
  • processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
  • processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

    • Processing in the context of relationships with customers, prospects, business partners and suppliers

    We process personal data of customers, prospects, business partners and suppliers (or their contact persons) to the extent that this is necessary for the business relationship.

    Purposes of processing

  • Initiating, advising on, quoting for and performing contracts, in particular dam construction as a contract service, sale of machines and the insect vacuum, deliveries and services
  • Scheduling and coordinating work on your farm
  • Communication by telephone, e-mail, WhatsApp and at trade fairs
  • Invoicing, accounting and payment processing
  • Service, warranty and customer support
  • Ordering and handling deliveries and services from our suppliers
  • Compliance with legal obligations, in particular retention and documentation obligations under commercial and tax law
  • Information about our products and services (direct marketing) to customers and business partners within the limits permitted by law

    • Categories of personal data

  • Master data (e.g. name, company, function, address)
  • Contact data (e.g. telephone number, e-mail address)
  • Contract and billing data (e.g. quotations, orders, invoices, bank details, VAT ID)
  • Deployment and farm data, where required for the service (e.g. place of work, field and cultivation details)
  • Content of communications (e.g. e-mails, notes of conversations)

    • Legal bases

  • Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR: performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures at the request of the data subject
  • Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR: compliance with legal obligations (e.g. section 257 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), section 147 of the German Fiscal Code (AO))
  • Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR: legitimate interests, e.g. maintaining the business relationship with contact persons at companies, direct marketing to existing customers, establishing, exercising and defending legal claims
  • Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR: consent, where you have given us such consent

    • Source of the data

    We usually receive the data directly from you (e.g. through enquiries, orders, business cards at trade fairs such as expoSE). Where necessary, we also process data from publicly accessible sources, e.g. the commercial register or company websites.

    Recipients

    Within our company, only the persons who need the data for the stated purposes have access to it. Data is passed on to third parties only where necessary, e.g. to tax advisers, banks and payment service providers, freight forwarders and shipping providers, cooperation and production partners (e.g. 4DISC GmbH when processing machine orders), IT and hosting service providers, and authorities where we are legally obliged to do so.

    Storage period

    We store your data for as long as this is necessary for the business relationship. After that, we delete the data unless statutory retention obligations prevent this. We keep documents relevant under commercial and tax law (e.g. invoices, contracts, business letters) for the statutory periods of six or ten years. We delete the data of prospects who have not concluded a contract as soon as the purpose of the enquiry has ceased to apply and no statutory retention obligations prevent this, unless you have consented to longer storage.

    Necessity of providing the data

    Providing the data mentioned is necessary for concluding and performing a contract. Without this data we are generally unable to process your enquiry or your order.

    Information on the collection of personal data when using our website

    (1) In the following we inform you about the collection of personal data when you use our website. Personal data is, for example, name, address, e-mail addresses or user behaviour.

    (2) When you contact us by e-mail, telephone or WhatsApp, the data you provide (e.g. your name, your telephone number or e-mail address and the content of your message) is stored by us in order to answer your enquiry. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (pre-contractual measures or performance of a contract) or Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in answering enquiries). We delete the data as soon as the enquiry has been dealt with and no statutory retention obligations prevent this. We do not currently offer a contact form on this website.

    Hosting and creation of log files

    This website is operated on a server of Hetzner Online GmbH (Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany) in the Nuremberg data centre, Germany. The server is administered on our behalf by jamani GmbH (Torstraße 33, 10119 Berlin); it also handles the technical evaluation of the reach measurement described below. Data processing agreements pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR exist with both service providers. All data collected when this website is accessed is stored exclusively on this server in Germany. The e-mail mailboxes of this domain are not operated on this server (see “E-mail hosting”). The legal basis is our legitimate interest in the secure and efficient provision of our online offering (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

    Each time our website is accessed, our system automatically collects data and information from the computer system of the accessing device. The following data is collected:

  • IP address of the accessing device
  • Timestamp (date and time of access)
  • Request line (path of the target address without domain)
  • Status code
  • Size of the response body
  • Referer (the page from which the visitor came)
  • User agent (browser and operating system)

    • The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The data serves the functionality and security of the website. The logs are rotated depending on the volume of data and deleted after 90 days at the latest.

    Reach measurement (our own, cookie-free statistics)

    For the statistical evaluation of the use of our website, we use our own reach measurement operated on our server. When a page is accessed, your browser transmits to our server the page accessed, the previously visited page (referrer), the page title, browser type and version, language setting, screen resolution and your IP address. No cookies are set, no user profiles are created and no data is passed on to advertising networks. For rough geographical classification and to detect automated access, the IP address is assigned to an approximate location and the network operator via the service ip-api.com; individual persons are not identified. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a statistical evaluation and in the security of our offering (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The data is stored on our server in Germany and automatically deleted after 90 days at the latest. You can object to the collection at any time with effect for the future (contact details above).

    E-mail hosting

    The e-mail addresses of this domain (e.g. info@thees-dammtec.de) are not operated on the server of this website but by eMotivo GmbH (www.emotivo.de) on its servers. When you send us an e-mail, your message and the associated data (e.g. your e-mail address, date and time, content) are processed and stored there. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (pre-contractual measures or performance of a contract) or Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in efficient and secure communication). We delete e-mails as soon as the enquiry has been dealt with and no statutory retention obligations (e.g. for business letters and invoices) prevent this.

    Cookie banner and local storage

    When you first visit, we ask for your preferences regarding cookies and external media. We store your choice in your browser (local storage) so that the query does not appear again on every visit. This storage entry is technically necessary; the legal basis is section 25(2) no. 2 of the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG) in conjunction with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Via the “Cookies” link in the footer of the website you can change your choice at any time. We do not set any further cookies, in particular for advertising or analysis purposes.

    You can configure your browser settings according to your wishes and, for example, refuse the acceptance of cookies or local storage content or delete data that has already been stored.

    Map service OpenStreetMap

    On the “Contact” page we embed a map from the OpenStreetMap service, operated by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, United Kingdom. The map is only loaded once you have agreed to “External media” in the cookie banner or clicked “Load map” on the page. Only then does your browser establish a connection to the OpenStreetMap servers; in particular, your IP address is transmitted. The legal basis is your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR in conjunction with section 25(1) TDDDG, which you can withdraw at any time. Information on data processing can be found at https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy. The map data is subject to the copyright of the OpenStreetMap contributors.

    External links and social media

    On our website we link to external offerings, in particular our profiles on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland) and Instagram (Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, Ireland), as well as to WhatsApp (WhatsApp Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, Ireland) and Google Maps (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). These are simple links that do not transmit any data as long as you do not click on them. Only when you click are you redirected to the respective provider; from then on its privacy policy applies. For our company profiles on LinkedIn and Instagram we are jointly responsible with the respective provider for the processing of visitor data, insofar as the provider makes statistical evaluations available to us.

    No use of third-party video services

    Videos on our website are played directly from our server. No connection is made to third-party video platforms.

    Fonts

    The fonts used on our website are delivered from our own server. No connection is made to Google or other third-party font services; your IP address is not transmitted to third parties for this purpose.

    Children

    Our offering is generally aimed at adults. Persons under the age of 18 should not provide any personal data to us without the consent of a parent or guardian.

    Rights of the Data Subject

    (1) Withdrawal of Consent

    If processing of personal data is based on granted consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out based on consent before its withdrawal.

    You can contact us at any time to exercise your right to withdraw consent.

    (2) Right to Confirmation

    You have the right to request confirmation from the controller as to whether we are processing personal data concerning you. You can request the confirmation at any time using the above-mentioned contact details.

    (3) Right of Access

    If personal data is being processed, you may request access to this personal data and to the following information at any time:

  • the purposes of the processing;
  • the categories of personal data concerned;
  • the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organizations;
  • if possible, the envisaged period for which the personal data will be stored, or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;
  • the existence of the right to request rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing of personal data concerning you or to object to such processing;
  • the existence of the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;
  • where the personal data are not collected from the data subject, any available information as to their source;
  • the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject.

    • If personal data is transferred to a third country or to an international organization, you have the right to be informed of the appropriate safeguards in connection with the transfer pursuant to Art. 46 GDPR. We will provide a copy of the personal data undergoing processing. For any further copies requested by the data subject, we may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs. If the request is made electronically, the information shall be provided in a commonly used electronic format, unless otherwise stated. The right to receive a copy pursuant to paragraph 3 shall not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

    (4) Right to Rectification

    You have the right to request us to correct inaccurate personal data concerning you without undue delay. Taking into account the purposes of processing, you have the right to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.

    (5) Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”)

    You have the right to request erasure of personal data concerning you without undue delay, and we are obliged to erase personal data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies:

  • The personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed.
  • The data subject withdraws consent on which the processing is based according to Art. 6(1)(a) or Art. 9(2)(a) and where there is no other legal ground for the processing.
  • The data subject objects under Art. 21(1) and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects under Art. 21(2) GDPR.
  • The personal data have been unlawfully processed.
  • The personal data must be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in EU or Member State law to which the controller is subject.
  • The personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Art. 8(1) GDPR.

    • If the controller has made the personal data public and is obliged to erase it under paragraph 1, he, taking account of available technology and implementation costs, shall take reasonable steps, including technical measures, to inform controllers which are processing the personal data that the data subject has requested erasure of any links to or copy or replication of those personal data.

    The right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) does not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:

  • for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;
  • for compliance with a legal obligation which requires processing by EU or Member State law to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority;
  • for reasons of public interest in the area of public health pursuant to Art. 9(2)(h) and (i) and Art. 9(3) GDPR;
  • for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Art. 89(1) GDPR insofar as the right referred to in paragraph 1 is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing;
  • for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

    • (6) Right to Restriction of Processing

    You have the right to request restriction of processing of your personal data if one of the following applies:

  • The accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject, while the controller verifies the accuracy of the personal data.
  • The processing is unlawful and the data subject opposes the erasure of the personal data and requests restriction of their use instead.
  • The controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of processing, but they are required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
  • The data subject has objected to processing pursuant to Art. 21(1), pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of the controller override those of the data subject.

    • If processing has been restricted in accordance with the above, such personal data shall, with the exception of their storage, only be processed with the consent of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims or for the protection of rights of another natural or legal person or for reasons of important public interest of the Union or of a Member State.

    You can exercise the right to restriction of processing at any time by contacting us at the contact details provided above.

    (7) Right to Data Portability

    You have the right to receive personal data concerning you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit those data to another controller without hindrance from us, provided that:

  • The processing is based on consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) or Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR or on a contract pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR; and
  • The processing is carried out by automated means.

    • In exercising your right to data portability pursuant to paragraph 1, you have the right to have the personal data transmitted directly from one controller to another, where technically feasible. The exercise of this right does not affect the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”). This right does not apply to processing necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

    (8) Right to Object

    You have the right to object at any time, for reasons related to your particular situation, to processing of personal data concerning you which is based on Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR, including profiling based on those provisions. The controller shall no longer process the personal data unless he demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

    Where personal data is processed for direct marketing purposes, you shall have the right to object at any time to processing of personal data concerning you for such marketing, including profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing. If you object to processing for direct marketing purposes, the personal data shall no longer be processed for such purposes.

    In connection with the use of information society services, you may exercise your right to object by automated means using technical specifications.

    You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to be subjected to processing of personal data concerning you for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes pursuant to Art. 89(1) GDPR, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

    You may exercise your right to object at any time by contacting the relevant controller.

    (9) Automated Individual Decision‑Making, Including Profiling

    You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. This does not apply if the decision:

  • is necessary for entering into, or performance of, a contract between you and us;
  • is authorized by Union or Member State law to which we are subject and which also lays down suitable measures to safeguard your rights and freedoms and legitimate interests; or
  • is based on your explicit consent.

    • We shall implement suitable measures to safeguard your rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, including at least the right to obtain human intervention on our part, to express your point of view and to contest the decision.

    You may exercise this right at any time by contacting the relevant controller.

    (10) Right to Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority

    You also have the right, without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of personal data relating to you infringes this Regulation.

    (11) Right to an Effective Judicial Remedy

    You have the right to an effective judicial remedy against a legally binding act of a supervisory authority concerning you under this Regulation or against a controller or processor if you consider that your rights under this Regulation have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data in non-compliance with this Regulation.

    Service providers (processors)

    We use external service providers (processors), with each of which a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR exists or which act as independent controllers. We work with the following service providers:

    Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, www.hetzner.com (hosting)

    eMotivo GmbH, www.emotivo.de (e-mail hosting and administration of the domain)

    jamani GmbH, Torstraße 33, 10119 Berlin (design and implementation of the website, server administration and technical evaluation of the reach measurement)

    Currentness of this privacy policy

    As of: October 2026. We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy if the legal requirements or our offerings change.