Desmet believes that your personal data belongs to you. We aim to respect and process your personal data with due care at all times. When visiting our website, you shall feel confident that your privacy is respected. The purpose of this Notice is to inform you of the types of Personal Data we collect when you Desmet web-site and the steps we take to protect and safeguard your personal information.
This Notice and its principles apply to personal information (or "personal data") we ask for and that you provide. By this we mean information that directly or indirectly identifies you, such as your name, physical address, e-mail address, IP number or other contact details.
We aim to process personal data that is adequate, relevant, and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which it has been collected. We believe in being transparent about the types of personal information and why we collect your information. We only collect and process personal information where we have lawful grounds to do so, and in accordance with Data Privacy Laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). On request, Desmet will provide you with further information regarding our processing and protection of your personal data when visiting our websites or communicating with us through other channels. Please see the contact section below.
This Notice also applies to any other website that we may operate, including our company pages on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. For the use of social media, we will be joint-controllers but only with regard to the processing related to accessing and using statistical aggregated data provided by these platforms.
Personal Data collection
We hope the following information will help you make an informed decision about sharing your personal information with us. You are always free to decide if you want to provide your personal information or not.
Just visiting our website
By accessing and browsing our web-site and most other services, we do not require personal information. We may collect limited non-personal identifying information your browser makes available whenever you visit a website. For example, your Internet Protocol address, browser language, geographical location data, date and time, and cookies. We use non-personal information to better understand user experience and interaction with the website and to further improve our offerings and services. Our Cookie Notice for usage of cookies is available here.
Recruitment or Job Applicant Privacy Notice
Desmet, its subsidiaries and affiliates collects and processes your personal information that you submit when you apply for a position at Desmet. This Job Applicant Privacy Notice sets out the personal data which we collect and for what purposes it is processed as well as your rights connected to the processing of your personal information. All information collected relating to job applications and inquiries whether advertised on the Desmet website or otherwise may be used in order to address your inquiry or consider you for employment purposes. You may at any time ask us to delete your personal information. Please contact: privacy@desmet.com
More information on how we handle your personal information can be found here: Data Privacy Notice for Job Applicants.
Applying for a Job online
Whenever we request personal information, we will inform you about what types of data we collect and how we use it. In general, if you are applying for job online, we will use your information to process your application.
Connect for Business
Where you request to receive newsletters, marketing and promotional material, general information or connect with us online, we may (depending on type of contact you request) collect the following personal information, for example:
- Contact details (first name and last name, e-mail, address, phone, professional title or role), company name, gender and language preferences. The processing is based on our legitimate interest when answering to your request through the contact form.
- Event, meeting (including feedback about content and services at events you attend through surveys), travel information. We have a legitimate interest to process your feedback about our services to evaluate and improve them.
- Where connecting on social platforms, we may also collect information you submit or post to and from our Services.
- We may also collect your precise, real-time location using beacon technology, GPS, cell phone towers, Wi-Fi signals, and/or future technologies. Please see our Cookie Notice for more information
- We might look at how often you use an app and where you downloaded it.
We may also collect information from business partners, from third parties acting on your behalf, and other platforms that help provide Services. For example, we may receive meeting data from an event registration provider. Note that this processing is necessary for the performance of a contract.
We may use your personal information to provide you with the requested services and may send you marketing and promotional material relevant to you, including invites to events and seminars, product, and service offerings, to keep in contact and to provide you with news, updates, and other business-to-business related information relevant to you. This processing is based on your consent (if you submitted your contact details for this purpose or agreed to receive such communications). Please note that, in some circumstances (e.g., if you registered to an event or seminar), we may consider having a legitimate interest in further sharing such communications with you.
You may at any time ask us to delete your personal information. Please contact privacy@desmet.com.
Desmet is responsible as Controller
Desmet Belgium N.V., headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, is the data controller of personal information collected via our website and which you entrust to us. We always aim to comply with the General Data Regulation and other applicable Data privacy laws. If you have any complaints relating to our handling of your personal information that cannot be resolved with us directly, please contact the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) at contact@apd-gba.be
Legal grounds for Collection and Processing of Personal Data
Depending on what services you request from us, we only process your personal information where we have legal grounds to do so. Where we require your consent to collect and process your personal data, the request form will be provided in a clear, specific, and expressly manner.
If we have asked for your consent, it can always be revoked at any time by contacting us and we will not use or process your personal information anymore.
Sharing of information
As a general rule, Desmet never rents or sells your personal information to other companies or individuals, unless we have your consent. We may share such information in any of the following limited circumstances:
- With your consent.
- To trusted businesses or persons for the sole purpose of processing your request on our behalf. Where this occurs, such parties are subject to agreements which require them to process such information only on our instructions and in compliance with this Privacy Notice and appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
- Where we are required by law or have good faith to believe that access, preservation, or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Desmet, its users or the public.
We may store and process personal information collected on our site in any country in which Desmet or our hosting providers maintain facilities. We do so in the context of the performance of a contract or for legitimate business purposes, or if and to the extent it is required by applicable law or to comply with a judicial request.
Data Transfers
Desmet adheres to international data protection legislation concerning transfers from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland to third countries. Data Transfers in this regard refers to all personal information that Desmet transfers from the European Economic Area (EEA) which pertains to, a specific individual in the EEA or Switzerland. Desmet will use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain assurances from third parties to whom we transfer data that they will safeguard personal data consistent with this Notice. Desmet has an international footprint which involves a large number of transfers of personal information between different subsidiaries, as well as to third parties located in countries where we do business. Regarding such data transfers, some countries have implemented transfer limitations for personal data transfer and in line with this, Desmet, has taken various measures regarding this, including:
- Where required, Desmet implements Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the EU Commission, or similar contractual clauses in other jurisdictions. This also includes transfers to suppliers and other third parties.
- We may transfer your data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) only if we have assured an adequate level of protection in the receiving country as required under the relevant data protection laws
Desmet will ensure the security of this personal information while in transit and would ensure usage of the personal information only in ways that are compatible with the purposes for which Desmet collected the data or in a manner authorized by the individual.
Security Measures
We aim to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss or alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access and any other unlawful forms of processing. We aim to ensure that the level of security and the measures adopted to protect your personal data are appropriate for the risks presented by the nature and use of your personal data.
We restrict access to your personal data to our employees and suppliers who need to use the information in order to process it on our behalf, and who are contractually required to keep your personal data secure and confidential.
Updating your information
Where we process your personal data, we aim to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. We will seek to erase or rectify personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete. If you need to update or correct your personal information, please send your request to privacy@desmet.com and we will provide you with the mechanism for updating and correcting your personal information
Data Retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Notice or the purposes of which you have otherwise been informed. We will retain your data for as long as permitted under applicable legal grounds, after which it will be deleted. For example, we keep personal information about our contracts for as long as necessary to execute them, to comply with our legal obligations and to resolve disputes.
If our legal grounds rely on your consent, you may revoke your consent at any time. Where you have exercised your right to withdraw your consent, we may be required to keep your personal information for defined period in order for us to meet our legal obligations and defend ourselves in legal disputes under certain circumstances.
For more information on the retention periods that we apply, please contact us via the details provided below.
Links to third party sites
Services may include links to other websites whose privacy practices differ from ours. These external sites may place their own cookies on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information. If you submit personal information to any of those sites, your information is governed by their privacy notices. Desmet does not exercise any control, or assume any responsibility for these sites, and we encourage you to carefully read the privacy notice of any website you visit.
Your Rights as an individual under this Notice
Since we process your personal data, you have the right to exercise certain rights as a data subject under specific circumstances.
In relation to your personal data, you may request to:
- Access your personal data (data subject access request): you have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning you are being processed, and, where that is the case, to obtain access to your personal data and to request a copy
- Rectify your personal data: you have the right to require rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data about you
- Erase your personal data (‘right to be forgotten’): you have the right to obtain the erasure of your personal data in certain cases
- Restrict the processing of your personal data: you have the right to restrict processing of your personal data under specific circumstances
- Object to the processing of your personal data: you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data if the processing takes place on the ground of our legitimate interest or on the ground of public interest. You can also object to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
- Withdraw your consent: at any time without any cost nor justification. However, the withdrawal of your consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
All requests must be made electronically using the designated request form including information such as name, e-mail address etc. necessary to verify your identity, or by using oure-mail address at privacy@desmet.com. Please note that those rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions or conditions of application.
All valid requests will be dealt with in a prompt and proper manner, and we will respond in English within no less than 30 days upon receiving your request.
If your request has been denied for the stated reasons or that you believe that we infringe your data protection rights, you may file a complaint to the local data protection authorities in the jurisdiction of the office in which the services are being provided.
Belgian Data Protection Authority: Autorité de protection des données – Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (APD-GBA)
Rue de la Presse 35 – Drukpersstraat 35 1000 Bruxelles – Brussel
Email: contact@apd-gba.be
Website: https://www.autoriteprotectiondonnees.be – https://www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be
Other EU Data Protection Authorities: https://www.edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en
Changes to this Notice
Desmet reserves the right to amend this Notice from time to time. We expect most such changes to be minor, but there may be changes that are more significant. The date of the last modification is stated at the end of this document.
We will post those changes on this page, and we will also provide a more prominent notice if the changes are significant. Each version will be noted at the top of the page. Prior versions of this Privacy Notice will be kept in an archive to view.
Contact
If you have any additional questions or wish to exercise your rights, please feel free to contact us any time at privacy@desmet.com
Version
This notice was published on January 2025