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Thank you for visiting the website of era-contact GmbH and for your interest in our company and our products. The privacy of your data is important to us and we want you to feel at ease when viewing our website. Protecting your privacy in the processing of your personal data is an important concern to which we pay special attention in our business processes. We process personal data collected during visits to our website in accordance with the data protection rules of the country in which the controller or processor is based. The era-contact website may contain links to websites of other providers not covered by this Data Protection Statement.

1. Name and contact details of the controller or processor and of the company’s Data Protection Officer

This privacy policy applies to data processing by:

Controller pursuant to Article 4(7) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

era-contact GmbH, Gewerbestraße 44,75015 Bretten, Germany info@era-contact.de

The company’s data protection officer, Mr Stefan Henschel, can be contacted at the above address or by email to datenschutz@era-contact.de.

2. Collection and storage of personal data and nature and purpose of its use

a) When you visit our website

When you visit our website, the browser used on your device automatically sends information to our website’s server. This information is temporarily stored in a log file. The following information is collected without your intervention and stored until automatically deleted:

  • IP address of the requesting computer;
  • Date and time of access;
  • Name and URL of the retrieved file;
  • Referrer URL;
  • Browser used and in some cases your computer’s operating system;
  • The name of your access provider.

We process the above data for the following purposes:

  • Ensuring unimpeded communication with the website;
  • Ensuring convenient use of our website;
  • Analysis of system security and stability;
  • Other administrative purposes.

The legal basis for the data processing is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Our legitimate interest follows from the above-listed purposes of data collection. In no circumstances do we use the collected data for the purpose of inferring your identity. We additionally use cookies when you visit our website. For further information about these, please see under headings 4 this privacy policy.

b)   When you use our contact form

For questions of any kind, we provide a form on the website for you to contact us. You need to provide a valid email address, forename and surname so that we know who the request is from and in order to respond. Further details can be provided voluntarily. The data is transmitted in encrypted form (see under heading 8). The legal basis for the data processing for the purpose of entering into contact with you is Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR on the basis of your freely given consent. The personal data we collect for use of the contact form is automatically deleted once your request has been dealt with.

3. Disclosure of data

We do not transfer your personal data to any third party other than for the purposes listed in the following. We only disclose your personal information to third parties if:

  • If you have given your express consent to it in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR;
  • Disclosure is necessary in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR for the establishment, exercise and defence of legal claims and there is no reason to assume that you have an overriding compelling interest in the non-disclosure of your data;
  • The disclosure is necessary in accordance with Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR for compliance with a legal obligation;
  • It is lawful and is necessary in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR for the performance of a contract to which you are party.

4. Cookies

We use cookies on our website. These are small files that your browser creates automatically and that are stored on your device (laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.) when you visit our site. Cookies do not harm your device and do not contain viruses, Trojans or other malware. A cookie stores information that results in connection with the specific device used. However, this does not mean that we gain direct knowledge of your identity. Cookies are used to improve the website experience for you.

For example, we use session cookies to recognise that you have already visited individual pages on our website. These cookies are automatically deleted when you leave our website.

In addition, to improve usability, we also use temporary cookies that are stored on your device for various periods of time. If you return to our site to use our services again, these cookies make it possible to see that you have visited before and any inputs and settings you have made so you do not have to repeat them. We also use cookies to keep statistics on the use of our website and analyse them to improve our content (see heading 5).

The data processed by way of cookies is needed for the purposes stated in order to safeguard our legitimate interests and those of third parties in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Most browsers accept cookies automatically. However, you can configure your browser so that no cookies are stored on your computer or so that you are always asked before a cookie is created. Please note that disabling cookies completely may mean that you cannot use all features of our website.

5. Your rights as a data subject

Your rights are as follows:

  • Right of access: You have the right (under Article 15 of the GDPR) to obtain access to the personal data concerning you that we process. In particular, you have the right to obtain information on the purposes of the processing, the category of personal data, the categories of recipients to whom the personal data has been or will be disclosed, the envisaged storage period, the existence of a right to rectification, erasure and restriction of processing and of a right to object, the source of your data if it is not collected from you, and the existence of any automated decision-making, including profiling, and meaningful information on the details of any such automated decision-making;

  • Right to rectification: You have the right (under Article 16 of the GDPR) to obtain rectification or completion of personal data stored with us;

  • Right to erasure: You have the right (under Article 17 of the GDPR) to obtain erasure of the personal data concerning you that is stored with us to the extent that the processing is not necessary for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;

  • Right to restriction of processing: You have the right (under Article 18 of the GDPR) to obtain restriction of the processing of your personal data to the extent that you contest the accuracy of the data, the processing is unlawful but you oppose its erasure and we no longer need the data, but you require it for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or you have objected to the processing pursuant to Article 21 of the GDPR;

  • Right to data portability: You have the right (under Article 20 of the GDPR) to receive the personal data concerning you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to have the data transmitted to another controller;

  • Right to withdraw your consent: You have the right (under Article 7(3) of the GDPR) to withdraw the consent that you have given. This has the effect that we are then no longer allowed to continue the data processing based on that consent.

  • Right to lodge a complaint: You have the right (under Article 77 of the GDPR) to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. As a rule, you can contact the supervisory authority for your place of habitual residence or place of work or for our registered office.

6. Right to object

To the extent that your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, you have the right, under Article 21 of the GDPR, to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to the processing of your personal data. In the case of direct marketing, you have a general right to object that we abide by without reference to any particular situation.

If you wish to exercise your right to withdraw consent or your right to object, it is sufficient to send an email to: datenschutz@era-contact.de.

7. Data security

When you visit our website, we use the widespread secure socket layer (SSL) protocol in conjunction with the highest level of encryption supported by your browser. This is generally 256-bit encryption. If your browser does not support 256-bit encryption, we use 128-bit SSL v3 encryption instead. You can tell if a specific page of our website is transferred in encrypted form by the closed key or padlock icon in your browser address bar. In all other respects, we use suitable technical and organisational security measures to protect your data against accidental or deliberate manipulation, partial or total loss, destruction or unauthorised access by third parties. Our security measures are continually improved in line with technological developments.

8. Validity of and modifications to this Data Protection Statement

This Data Protection Statement is valid as of the present time and was last revised in May 2018. As a result of enhancements to our website and the services provided on it, or as a result of legal or official requirements, it may become necessary for this Data Protection Statement to be revised.

in Press

Industry 4.0: era-contact organizes fourth working group meeting

International market leader era-contact, a subsidiary of the aichele GROUP, hosts the government-sponsored research group Intro 4.0

On 18th and 19th September at its headquarters in Bretten-Gölshausen, era-contact GmbH welcomed around 35 participants to the fourth official working group meeting for the Intro 4.0 project group. Sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), selected companies have been invited to help develop intelligent Industry 4.0 solutions and strategies. The working group meeting provides an excellent opportunity for in-depth discussion of research progress and different approaches within each company. The objective of the Intro 4.0 project team is to devise ways to strategically and efficiently introduce information and communications technology into production facilities.
era-contact's guests included other innovative companies from all over Germany: IFA, Festo didactic, GTT and ITK Engineering, Arnold AG, Infineon, Sartorius, Sennheiser and STIHL.

Industry 4.0 – Production process digitization at era-contact

Back in May 2017, era-contact was named one of the "100 places for Industry 4.0 in Baden-Württemberg" by Allianz Industrie 4.0 for developing and implementing the "Paperless production" software solution. The working group meeting host is now offering a comprehensive insight into the ongoing work on implementing digital management for the production process. The "Paperless production" solution has already played a pivotal role in paving the way toward greater efficiency: Depending on the dynamics of change processes at the customer's site, before the "Paperless production" solution was introduced, long-winded logistical procedures were required to provide each workstation with an up-to-date drawing for the production process. If an employee noticed a problem during a production step, the drawing would have to be amended by a design engineer. It was necessary to ensure that the amended drawing was immediately available in paper form at all relevant workstations. Using the advanced "Paperless production" solution, which makes digitized data available at the workstation, employees can electronically access the most recent set of drawings for the production step in question directly. This user-friendly system then displays the drawing on the screen. The use of digital media in production thereby eliminates the laborious task of manually amending paper drawings. Because the design data is available in digital form at the workstation, each employee can view the technical drawings themselves as required. In addition, the software documentation ensures that only the current version of the drawing that is being used is available to every employee. Any changes are clearly identified and can be traced.

Next step: Workflow management

The next phase in era-contact's production process digitization endeavor is the implementation of a workflow management system, which will allow virtually all aspects of the change processes in production to be automated using information technology. This integrated digital change management concept is being developed to reduce processing times and further increase process transparency for everyone involved, thereby improving change documentation and change archiving. This cuts down on operations and intermediate stages that are not relevant and that do not add any value to the change process; document processing times are shortened, and the communication of daily updates significantly reduces potential sources of error.

The introduction of a system that achieves these things and enables a largely automated, digital workflow to be mapped is a welcome addition to the programs that are currently in use at era-contact but which have only limited suitability for use as part of the digitization required to successfully implement Industry 4.0. The individual requirements of the process owner and process participant are the building blocks on which this kind of workflow model is based.

Research is conducted through close collaboration between employees

era-contact sets great store by close collaboration and ongoing dialog between employees to facilitate the effective development of new, smarter solutions that are fit for purpose. The pooled experience of all of these employees, which has already borne fruit in the form of the "Paperless production" solution, is used as the basis on which to analyze and evaluate the actual situation and identify areas with the potential for optimization. era-contact has found organizing workshops and training sessions to be an effective way of bringing people together to exchange ideas and information. "With people as the foundation!" is the motto of era-contact's holding company the aichele GROUP; in line with this philosophy, era-contact takes an approach to implementing digital solutions that not only involves working with employees, but also works for employees. This is why all the courses of action and development phases that form part of the Intro 4.0 project – not just individual steps – are conducted in close collaboration with employees.

For 90 years, era-contact (formerly FABEG) has been successful in the railroad, automotive, utility vehicle, and construction machinery sectors, as well as in the measuring and medical equipment, machine and plant construction sectors. In 2000, era-contact was incorporated by the Herrenberg-based business owner Erich Aichele into the aichele GROUP of companies in Gültstein. As a world market leader for electrical rail couplings and an innovative system supplier of high-tech products and solutions for cable manufacturing, UIC connector systems and contact systems, era-contact engineers projects on a local basis and supplies its partners in many sectors worldwide.

Photo © era-contact GmbH

Further informations: www.intro40.de,  www.aichele-group.de