Data protection

Principles

Thank you for visiting The Linde Group’s website, and for your interest in our company and our products. We take the protection of your private data seriously and rely on mutual cooperation. The protection of your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. Therefore, it goes without saying that we comply with statutory provisions for data protection. Our employees are obligated to treat all information confidentially and they receive regular training in the areas of data protection and data security. In the sections below, we would like to briefly explain how we protect your data and what it means for you when you make use of our online offering.


Access data

When our Internet pages are called up, The Linde Group receives access data that is stored for protective purposes and aids in identification. This data includes:

  • the name of your Internet service provider;

  • the country from which you are accessing the site;

  • the website that has directed you to our Intenet presence;

  • the search term you use, if you come to our site via a search engine;

  • The Linde Group websites that you visit;

  • the user tool (web browser, operating system) you use to access our website;

  • files that you download from our website (e.g. PDF or Word documents);

  • the duration of your visit; and

  • the date and the time of your visit.

This data is analyzed by The Linde Group so that we can familiarise ourselves with and evaluate user behaviour. We do not make use of personal data in the process.


Personal data

Personal data is information that is used explicitly to determine your identity. It includes information such as your name and your postal or e-mail address. The only time we save personal data in addition to your access data is if you give us this information voluntarily, e.g. as part of a registration, a survey, a prize competition, a contact inquiry, registration for a newsletter or to process an online order. Moreover, personal data is used only to the extent necessary and only for the legally permissible purpose for which you gave your consent. To ensure the secure transmission of your data, The Linde Group employs encryption procedures in secure areas. This means that communication between your browser and our order system, for instance, cannot be read by others on the Internet. All data is stored exclusively on specially protected servers of The Linde Group in Germany. Using our order system is regarded as consenting to the storage and use of your data by The Linde Group and its partners.


Passing on personal data to third parties

The Linde Group renders some of its services together with select partners. These partners are subject to the same strict statutory provisions for data protection as and are integrated into the data-protection concept of The Linde Group. Personal data is only passed on:

  • when processing order-related data, such as for online orders; and

  • in individual cases, provided you have given your prior consent.

Additional information – such as voluntary statements about your primary areas of interest – is not passed on to third parties by The Linde Group. Personal data is conveyed to state institutions and authorities only within the scope of statutory or judicial obligations.


Power of revocation

If you request in writing that The Linde Group or the representative responsible for you amend, cease from using or delete your personal data, we shall do so immediately. If you are registered as a user, we also offer you the opportunity to view the data for yourself and delete or change as necessary.


Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are used by many websites in Germany and throughout the world. Cookies are created during your visit to our website and are placed on your hard disk by our server. Our cookies contain no information about specific individuals. Moreover, cookies placed by our servers can only be read again by us and not by any external website. Most browsers are set to automatically accept cookies. If you do not wish to enjoy the advantages of cookies, you can deactivate this function in your browser. You can also view our website without cookies. However, this may restrict the use of some features.


Other active content (e.g. Javascript, ActiveX)

Javascript, ActiveX and other website control elements and script languages that contain executing elements can be deactivated at any time for security reasons using your browser. Our Internet sites can still be navigated without Javascript.


Links

Some of The Linde Group's websites contain links to other websites. We make every effort to check these direct links. The Linde Group is not responsible for the content of the websites to which we link. The Linde Group is also not responsible for the content of websites that link to our website.


Restrictions

The Linde Group reserves the right to alter these guidelines for data protection at any time in compliance with the stipulations of data-protection law.


Questions and comments:

If you have any questions or recommendations about data protection at The Linde Group , please feel free to contact our data-protection officer by e-mail:

The Linde Group
Chief Data Protection Officer
send email 

Munich, June 2010