Data Privacy Statement

As at: October 2025

In the following Data Privacy Statement, CLAAS Stiftung ("CLAAS") provides information about how your personal data is processed.
 

A. General Data Privacy Statement

I. Name and contact details of the controller  
 

The controller is:

Claas-Stiftung
Mühlenwinkel 1
33428 Harsewinkel 
Deutschland
stiftung@claas.com

(hereinafter referred to as "CLAAS" or "we")

You can assert your rights of the data subject via privacy@claas.com.

II. Contact details of the Data Protection Officer
 

The Group Data Protection Officer can be contacted as follows:

CLAAS KGaA mbH
Data Protection Officer
Mühlenwinkel 1 
33428 Harsewinkel
Deutschland
group.dpo@claas.com

III. Storage period

CLAAS stores your personal data only for as long as necessary in order to fulfil the purpose for which it is collected and processed. Where necessary, CLAAS shall store your data for the duration of the business relationship. This includes, but is not limited to, the initiation and execution of the contract.

Furthermore, CLAAS stores your personal data if and as long as this is required to fulfil contractual or legal obligations. We thus process your data to fulfil commercial or fiscal verification and retention obligations.

If the data is no longer required to fulfil contractual or legal obligations, it will be regularly erased, unless you have given CLAAS consent to process your data and/or further processing is required based on CLAAS' legitimate interests, for example to win back customers and defend against legal claims in legal disputes. In the case of data processed to defend against legal claims in legal disputes, the storage period shall also be based on the legal limitation periods. In this case, processing shall be limited, i.e. limited to the minimum scope required for the claim and blocked for other purposes.

IV. Categories of recipients

• Carefully selected service providers. Service providers we engage, who support us in the performance of the business relationship, are granted access to the data. These companies operate in the following categories: Hosting providers, data management, software as a service, e-mail services, IT services (e.g. maintenance and support, data migration), consulting, service providers in the first, second and third level support. 

• Transfer to third parties. We shall also transfer your data to third parties if this is permitted by legal or contractual provisions and/or you have given your consent. On this condition, the Data can be transferred to the following categories of recipients: Public bodies and institutions (such as the public prosecutor's office, police, tax authority, data protection supervisory authority) to process official requests, provided that this is in your interest or we are legally obligated to do so. The legal basis for this is Article 6(1)(f) or 6(1)(c) GDPR.

• Data transfer within the CLAAS Group. We shall transfer your data to other companies within the CLAAS Group or grant them access to your data. Insofar as this is required for administrative purposes, this shall be based on our legitimate interest in internal administrative purposes and group reporting. The legal basis for this is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. If this is required to prepare for an agreement initiated by you or to fulfil contract-related obligations, or if you have given your consent, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) or 6(1)(a) GDPR. If we are legally entitled to do this, the legal basis arises from Article 6(1)(c) GDPR. We refer to the Separate Data Privacy Statement for any data transfer to third parties beyond the scope described here.

• Third parties with whom we have an ongoing business relationship. If this is required to prepare for a contract or to fulfil contract-related obligations, or if you have given your consent, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) or 6(1)(a) GDPR. If we are legally required to do this, the legal basis arises from Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.

   

V. Transfer to third countries

If CLAAS transfers your personal data itself or via service providers to countries based outside the European Union, CLAAS shall comply with the relevant particular requirements of Article 44 et seq. GDPR and our service providers shall also undertake to comply with these regulations. CLAAS shall therefore only transfer your data to countries based outside the European Union subject to the level of security guaranteed by the GDPR. This level of security is guaranteed in particular on the basis of an adequacy decision by the European Commission or with suitable guarantees in accordance with Article 46 GDPR (including but not limited to through the agreement of the EU standard contractual clauses). In addition, data can in exceptional cases be transferred on the basis of Article 49(1) GDPR.

VI. Obligation to provide personal data

Unless specified otherwise in the Separate Data Privacy Statement, you are not legally or contractually required to provide your data.

VII. Obligation to provide personal data

In accordance with Article 15 GDPR, you have the right to obtain information about the data that we hold that relates to you. If incorrect personal data has been processed, you have the right to rectification of your data in accordance with Article 16 GDPR. If the legal requirements apply, you can request erasure or restriction of processing and submit an objection to data processing (Articles 17, 18 and 21 GDPR). In accordance with Article 20 GDPR, you can exercise the right for data portability for data that is automatically processed on the basis of your consent or under a contract.

You can assert your rights against CLAAS using the above contact details

If you wish to assert your data protection rights as a data subject, we shall process your data in order to fulfil our legal obligations in accordance with Article 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with Articles 15–22, Article 12(3–6) and Article 7(3) GDPR.

If you believe that data is being processed in violation of data protection regulations, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority of your choice.

B. Special section: Provision of our website

I. Provision of our website for the general public

If you only use the website for information purposes, i.e. if you do not register or communicate information to CLAAS in any other way (e.g. using our contact form), CLAAS shall only collect the personal data transmitted by your browser to our server. Data collection is a technical requirement in order for us to show you our website. The legal basis for this is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Your visit to the website is recorded in the log files; this is necessary to guarantee the functionality of the website and the security of the IT systems. The legal basis for this data processing is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. You are able to object to the processing of data on the basis of a legitimate interest at any time with future effect, see Section A.VII. For the aforementioned purposes, we also have a legitimate interest in data processing.

The following categories of data shall be collected when you visit the website: Usage and traffic data, technical documentation and logged data, e.g.:

• date and time of access
• time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• IP address
• host name of the accessing computer
• website used to call up website
• websites called up via the website (content of the request)
• pages visited on the website
• report on whether access was successful
• volume of data transferred
• information about the browser type, language and version used
• operating system

This data shall be erased as soon as it is no longer required to achieve the purpose of its collection. As regards provision of the website, this is the case once the respective session has ended. If the data is stored in log files, this is the case after a maximum of 30 days. The data is not stored together with any of your other personal data.

In order to display external contents on our website (e.g. integrating an IFRAME to display the CLAAS Collection catalogue), we shall transfer your personal data specified above to third parties (e.g. companies within the CLAAS Group). The legal basis for this is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in making our website more interesting and user-friendly for you. You are able to object to the processing of data on the basis of a legitimate interest at any time with future effect, see Section A.VII.

II. Use of services (e.g. cookies, analytical and remarketing tools)

CLAAS uses services (e.g. cookies, analysis tools and remarketing tools) on this website. CLAAS uses these services to store information on your device (e.g. in your browser) and/or access information that is already stored on your device. This information may include personal data as well as data that is not related to a specific person. Where applicable, after the information has been stored or accessed, personal data may be processed further in accordance with your category selection. 

CLAAS uses the following services in the following categories: 

If the use of the service (i.e. storing information on your device and/or accessing information stored on your device) is required for a technical reason, the legal basis for this is Section 25(2) of the TDDDG in conjunction with Article 6(1)(b,c,f) GDPR. This information may include personal data as well as data that is not related to a specific person. If, after storing or accessing the information, personal data relating to you is processed, this processing is performed only if required

• is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party (Art. 6(1)( b) GDPR) or
• is prescribed by law (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR) or
• is necessary to safeguard our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

The legal basis for the use of the services (i.e. storing information on your device and/or accessing information stored on your device) in the Statistical Analysis, Marketing, and Additional Functions categories is Section 25(1) sentence 1 of the German Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TDDDG) in conjunction with Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, subject to your consent. This information may include personal data as well as data that is not related to a specific person. If, after storing or accessing the information, personal data relating to you is processed in accordance with your category selection, we process this on the basis of Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, subject to your consent. You have the right to withdraw your consent, see Section A.VII. Withdrawing your consent does not affect the legality of storing information on your device and/or accessing information on your end device or the further processing of personal data in accordance with your choice of category that has been performed with your consent. Your consent is voluntary.

Using the "Change data protection settings" option, you can revoke your consent or make changes to your data protection settings:

Your consent is valid for six months. After this time, we shall ask you to reconfirm your consent. We shall also ask you to reconfirm your consent by displaying the cookie banner if new services are added to this website or if services change such that renewed consent is required in order to be able to continue to implement the services (e.g. changes of purpose).

Please note that your individual browser settings can potentially prevent your settings (e.g. your consent) from being saved long-term and we shall ask you to reconfirm your consent each time you visit our website.

C. Special section: Application for grant programmes

I. Application and participation in grant programmes

The Claas-Stiftung processes only that personal data, which the Claas-Stiftung is receiving from you or your supervising university/school/institute regarding the application for participation in one of the promotional programmes. Relevant personal data are:

• Your application data: particulars (e.g. name, address and other contact details such as phone number, mobile phone number, E-Mail), your application photo, title of your thesis, with which you apply, content of submission (working title and content hereinafter called „submission“), your university/school/institute, name of supervisor, your educational level, information about your CV, as far as necessary according to the terms and conditions of the promotional programme
• Your bank details: If you are chosen for a monetary prize or if you receive a financial support within the scope of the promotional programme, the data connected with your bank details will be processed

Your personal data will be processed solely for the specific purpose of treating your application in the frame of promotional programmes including the organisation of the award ceremony. The main legal basis for processing is the initial phase of the contract or the fulfilment of the contract regarding the promotional programme according to the objectives and the funding guidelines of the Claas-Stiftung is Article 6 (1)(b) GDPR.

Furthermore, we publish your name and the title of your submission on the website of the Claas-Stiftung based on our legitimate interest in the coverage of the activities of the foundation and of promotional programmes. Legal basis is Article 6 (1)(f) GDPR. 

In case you take part at the award ceremony, we may publish your name, the country, in which you live, the working title of your submission, your university/school/institute and your educational level on the list of participants, which will be available to the other participants in the event as well as the host and the moderator. This is based on our legitimate interest in conducting and moderating the award ceremony and in facilitating an exchange of information and experience between the participants. In addition, we publish the above-mentioned data on the website of the Claas-Stiftung, the Facebook fan page of the Claas-Stiftung, the website of the CLAAS Group as well as on the intranet of the CLAAS Group. This is based on our legitimate interest in reporting on the activities of the Foundation and the support programmes. The legal basis is Article 6 (1)(f) GDPR. 

II. Organisation of events

We host a range of events, and in order to prepare and run the event you have registered for, we process your personal data. These are in particular: your first and last name, your e-mail address, your address and telephone number. The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR.

III. Photo and video recordings (´recordings´)

Photos and video recordings are taken at our events. We publish these recordings within the CLAAS group, in the CLAAS Intern, the CLAAS internal magazine, on the CLAAS intranet, in the Claas-Stiftung’s newsletter for the purpose of internal reporting. For the purpose of public reporting on the work of the Foundation some of the recordings are also published on the website of the CLAAS Foundation (https://www.claas-stiftung.com/ and https://www.claas-foundation.com/), on the website of the CLAAS Group (https://www.claas-foundation.com/), in our social media portals (Claas-Stiftung: Übersicht | LinkedIn and Claas-Stiftung: Übersicht | LinkedIn), on the Facebook page of the CLAAS Group (https://de-de.facebook.com/CLAAS/) and in local print media.

If your person is the focus of the recordings, Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, based on your consent, is the appropriate legal basis for processing the recordings. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time informally (e.g. letter, e-mail) and without giving reasons with effect for the future. 

Insofar as and as long as the event as such, is cause and foreground of the reporting and not the individual as such, even if you are clearly identifiable as an individual person, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR is the appropriate legal basis for processing the recordings. Our legitimate interest is in internal and external reporting. 

The legal basis for the processing of documentation and protocol data concerning you for the purpose of recording your consent is Article 6(1)(c) GDPR or Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

If your recordings are published on the Internet, they can be accessed and processed worldwide. CLAAS has no influence on this.

We would like to inform you about the fact that external reporters (press) may be present at the award ceremony, who will take photos and videos. We have no control over the external reporters and the use of photos and / or videos taken by them and therefore cannot give more accurate information about their processing.

IV. Storage period

If you apply for a registered grant programme, in case of rejection, your personal data will be deleted not later than six months after completion of the procedure for decision about the awarding of promotion.

In case of an application without reference to an advertised vacancy (unsolicited application), the application will be stored for as long as the Claas-Stiftung has legitimate interests in retention. This is the case, for instance, if it is possible to consider your application for future promotional programmes. The legal basis is Article 6 (1)(f) GDPR.

In case of successful application for a grant programme, CLAAS processes and stores your personal data for the period required to achieve the purpose of the contract (participation in the grant programme), legal basis is Article 6 (1)(b) GDPR, or, if so required by the European directives and regulations or any other legislator in laws or regulations responsible, was provided. These include, for example, storage and documentation obligations under the Commercial Code and the Tax Code. The storage periods provided there are up to 10 years.

We store your name, your contact details and your submission, which we have awarded or have received an award, until you have legitimately objected to the storage pursuant to Article 21 (1) GDPR, unless there are legitimate reasons for doing so for processing within the meaning of Article 21 (1) GDPR.

Your recordings will be stored for as long as they are needed for the in B.III. mentioned purposes. If you revoke your consent, the data will be deleted with effect for the future.

If the recordings of you is published on the Internet, it is possible that it can be found via special search engines even after deletion (e.g. www.archieve.org). CLAAS has no influrence on this. 

V. Obligation to provide personal data

You have no contractual or statutory obligation to provide us with personal data. If you register for an event or apply for a grant programme, we will need your personal data for the registration and organisation of the event or in order to process your application and to conduct the award as part of the grant programme and to fulfil the contractual obligations arising from your participation in the programme. Without the necessary data, we cannot ensure your participation in the event or the grant programme.

D. Special section: Links to websites of third parties

This website contains links to websites of third parties (e.g. companies belonging to the CLAAS Group). If you access the relevant link, the website of the third party will open in a new window. This Data Privacy Statement does not extend to data processing on the website of the third party.