Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last updated: 26 June 2026

Van der Gucht Pottery & Bamboo NV (hereinafter “National Tree Company Europe”, “we”, “us” or “our”) attaches great importance to the protection of your personal data and respects your privacy. This policy explains which personal data we collect via the website www.nationaltreecompany-europe.com, why we do so, how long we retain it and what rights you have.

This policy has been drawn up in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, hereinafter “GDPR”) and applicable Belgian data protection legislation.

1. Data controller

The controller responsible for processing your personal data is:

Van der Gucht Pottery & Bamboo NV Eurolaan 4, B-9140 Temse, Belgium Company / VAT number: BE 0405 069 723 Email: info@vdg.be Phone: +32 (0)3 771 33 95

For any questions about this policy or about the processing of your data, you can contact us using the details above.

2. What personal data do we collect?

2.1 Data you provide to us

When you send us a message via the contact form, we process the data you enter in that form, such as:

First and last name
Company name (optional)
Email address
Phone number (optional)
The content of your message or request

2.2 Data collected automatically

We do not use analytics, tracking or profiling software on this website. No usage data is collected automatically when you visit.

Apart from the contact form, we do not collect any personal data via this website.

3. Purposes and legal bases for processing

We only process your personal data for specific purposes and always on the basis of a valid legal ground:

Purpose	Legal basis (GDPR)
Responding to questions and requests via the contact form or email	Performance of a (pre-)contractual relationship or our legitimate interest
Managing the business relationship with (potential) clients and partners	Performance of a contract or legitimate interest
Complying with legal obligations (e.g. accounting, tax)	Legal obligation

Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time (see point 8).

4. With whom do we share your data?

We never sell your personal data to third parties. We only share your data where necessary, in particular with:

Service providers and processors that provide services on our behalf, in particular our web hosting provider. The necessary data-processing arrangements are made with these parties to safeguard the protection of your data.
Competent authorities or bodies, where we are legally required to do so.

5. Transfers outside the European Economic Area (EEA)

We do not transfer your personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

6. How long do we keep your data?

We do not keep your personal data longer than necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for as long as legally required:

Data from the contact form: for a maximum of 2 years after the last contact, unless a business relationship arises from it.
Data relating to a business relationship: for the duration of the relationship and thereafter in accordance with the statutory retention periods.

7. Security of your data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. Our staff and processors are bound by confidentiality.

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right of access to the personal data we process about you.
Right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”).
Right to restriction of processing.
Right to data portability.
Right to object to the processing, including for direct marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw your consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

You can exercise these rights by contacting us using the details in point 1. To prevent misuse, we may ask you to identify yourself. In principle, we will respond to your request within one month.

9. Complaint to the supervisory authority

If you believe that we are not processing your data correctly, you may always lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority:

Data Protection Authority (Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit / Autorité de protection des données) Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel.: +32 (0)2 274 48 00 Email: contact@apd-gba.be Website: www.dataprotectionauthority.be

10. Links to third-party websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of those websites. We recommend that you consult their privacy statements.

11. Minors

Our website and services are aimed at business partners and not at minors. We do not knowingly collect data from persons under the age of 16.

12. Changes to this policy

We may amend this privacy and cookie policy from time to time, for example to comply with changes in legislation. The most recent version is always available on our website. The date of the latest change can be found at the top of this page.

B. Cookie Policy

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, tablet or smartphone when you visit a website. They ensure that the website functions correctly, remember your preferences and help us analyse how the website is used. In addition to cookies, we may use similar technologies such as pixels and local storage; for convenience, we refer to all of these in this policy as “cookies”.

2. What types of cookies do we use?

On this website we only use necessary (functional) cookies. We do not use analytical, marketing, advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

Cookie	Provider	Type	Purpose	Retention
`pll_language`	National Tree Company Europe	Necessary	Remembers your language preference	Up to 1 year

Necessary cookies are always placed because they are essential for the operation of the website.

3. Consent

Because we only use necessary cookies, no consent is required for them. If we introduce non-essential cookies in future, we will ask for your consent beforehand via a cookie banner, and you will be able to change or withdraw that choice at any time.

4. Managing and deleting cookies

You can also manage, refuse or delete cookies via your browser settings. Below you will find instructions per browser:

Google Chrome: Settings › Privacy and security › Third-party cookies
Mozilla Firefox: Settings › Privacy & Security › Cookies and Site Data
Microsoft Edge: Settings › Cookies and site permissions
Apple Safari: Preferences › Privacy

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functioning of the website.

5. Changes to this cookie policy

We may amend this cookie policy from time to time. Please check this page regularly for the most up-to-date version.