Privacy policy

of cool down ag, Weinfelden

1. What is this about?

With this privacy policy, we, cool down ag (hereinafter also referred to as we or us), explain how we collect and otherwise process personal data when you visit our website, purchase our products or services, when we enter into or conduct a business relationship with you as a business partner or your employer, or when you deal with us in any other way.

Under certain circumstances, further data protection declarations or other legal documents such as general terms and conditions, terms of use or conditions of participation may apply, which is why this is not an exhaustive description of our data processing in all cases.

Personal data refers to all information relating to an identified or identifiable person. Processing includes any handling of personal data, regardless of the means and procedures used, in particular the storage, disclosure, procurement, collection, deletion, storage, modification, destruction and use of personal data.

If you provide us with personal data of other persons (e.g. data of employees or family members), we assume that you have ensured that these persons are aware of this privacy policy, that this personal data is correct and that you only provide us with their personal data if you are permitted to do so.

Wir unterliegen grundsätzlich dem Schweizer Datenschutzrecht, weshalb diese Datenschutzerklärung in erster Linie auf das Schweizer Datenschutzgesetz (DSG) ausgelegt ist. Es hängt jedoch vom konkreten Einzelfall ab, ob allenfalls die EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) oder anderweitige Datenschutzgesetzte anwendbar wären.

We are generally subject to Swiss data protection law, which is why this privacy policy is primarily based on the Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA) (Schweizer Datenschutzgesetz (DSG)). However, it depends on the specific individual case whether the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO)) or other data protection laws would be applicable.

2. Who is responsible?

cool down ag, Weinfelden, is responsible for the data processing described here, unless otherwise stated in individual cases.

If you have any data protection concerns, you are welcome to send them to the following contact address:

cool down ag

Gaswerkstrasse 15

8570 Weinfelden

Switzerland

info@cool-down.swiss

3. How do we collect your data?

In principle, we process personal data that we receive from our customers and other business partners (especially suppliers) as part of our business relationship with them and other persons involved or that we collect from their users when operating our websites and other applications, especially when interacting with our profiles on social networks.

We may also obtain certain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g. debt collection or commercial registers, land registers, press, internet) or receive such data from our business partners, authorities and other third parties (e.g. credit agencies).

4. What data do we process?

We process the data that you transmit to us in connection with the use of our offers and services and our business relationship, e.g. via the contact form on the website, customer feedback questionnaire, by e-mail or otherwise directly (e.g. contact details, product order data, information on your satisfaction), or that result from the use of our offers and services or in connection with the processing of the business relationship (e.g. order information, contract data, payment details). We also process data that you provide to us in connection with a job application.

In addition to this data, the categories of personal data that we may receive about you from third parties include in particular

Information in connection with your professional functions and activities (e.g. so that we can conclude and process transactions with your employer with your help);
Information about you in correspondence and meetings with third parties;
Information from public registers and credit reports (insofar as we conduct business with you personally);
Information that we may learn in connection with official and legal proceedings;
Information about you that people from your environment (family, employer, advisor, legal representative, etc.) give us so that we can conclude or process contracts with you or with your involvement (e.g. references, your address for deliveries, powers of attorney, information on compliance with legal requirements such as anti-money laundering and export restrictions, information from banks, insurance companies, sales and other contractual partners of ours on the use or provision of services by you (e.g. payments made, purchases made));
Personal data from the media and the Internet (if applicable in individual cases, e.g. as part of an application, press review, marketing/sales, etc.), your addresses and, if applicable, interests and other socio-demographic data (for marketing);
Information and data in connection with the use of the website or the social media we use (e.g. IP address, MAC address of the smartphone or computer, information about your device and settings, cookies, date and time of the visit, pages and content accessed, functions used, referring website, location data).

5. Why do we process your data and on what legal basis?

When we process personal data, we are particularly concerned with concluding and processing our contracts with our customers and business partners. This relates in particular to processing in the context of the sale of our products to our customers, whether via the online store or otherwise, and the purchase of products and services from our suppliers and subcontractors (insofar as the GDPR is applicable, this relates to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR). In this context, we process your data in particular to

communicate with you, whether in the context of an inquiry, a product order, feedback or otherwise;
to process your order and deliver it to you if necessary;
to inform you about our offers and products;
to process our product purchases from you or your employer/client as our business partner;
expand our network.

Your personal data may also be affected if you work for one of our customers or business partners (insofar as the GDPR is applicable, this concerns Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). Our legitimate interest in these cases is to handle the business relationship optimally and as efficiently as possible. We also need to process certain data in order to comply with our legal obligations in Switzerland and abroad (insofar as the GDPR is applicable, this relates to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR).

In addition, we also process personal data for the following purposes, where permitted and where we deem it appropriate, in which we (and in certain cases also third parties) have a legitimate interest corresponding to the purpose (where the GDPR is applicable, this relates to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR):

Offering and further developing our products, services and websites, apps and other platforms on which we are present;
Communication with third parties and processing their inquiries (e.g. applications, media inquiries, authorities, etc.);
Examination and optimization of procedures for needs analysis for the purpose of direct customer contact and collection of personal data from publicly accessible sources for the purpose of customer acquisition;
Advertising and marketing (including the organization of events), provided you have not objected to the use of your data (if we send you advertising as an existing customer, you can object to this at any time and we will put you on a blacklist against further advertising mailings);
Market and opinion research, media monitoring;
Assertion of legal claims and defense in connection with legal disputes and official proceedings;
Prevention and investigation of criminal offenses and other misconduct (e.g. conducting internal investigations, data analysis to combat fraud);
Guarantees of our operations, in particular IT, our websites, apps and other platforms;
Measures for IT, building and facility security and protection of our employees and other persons and assets belonging to or entrusted to us (e.g. access controls, visitor lists, network and mail scanners, telephone recordings);
Purchase and sale of business divisions, companies or parts of companies and other transactions under company law and the associated transfer of personal data as well as measures for business management and compliance with legal and regulatory obligations and internal regulations of cool down ag.

If you have given us your consent to process your personal data for certain purposes (for example, when you register to receive newsletters), we will process your personal data within the scope of and based on this consent, unless we have another legal basis and we require one (insofar as the GDPR is applicable, this concerns Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Consent that has been given can be withdrawn at any time, but this has no effect on data processing that has already taken place.

6. What happens to your data that is collected or processed in connection with the use of our website / social networks?

6.1 Website and Cookies

We use “cookies” and similar technologies on our website to identify your browser or device.

Cookies are text files that are stored on your end device (PC, laptop computer, tablet computer or smartphone). These text files are downloaded by your browser the first time you visit our website. When you visit a website again using the same device or browser, the cookie and the information stored in it are either sent back to the website that created it (first-party cookie) or sent to another website to which it belongs (third-party cookie). As a result, the website recognizes that this concerns the same user and adjusts the display of content on the website. In addition to cookies that are only used during a session and are deleted after your website visit (so-called session cookies), cookies can also be used to store user settings and other information for a certain period of time (e.g. two years) (so-called permanent cookies).

You have the option of setting your browser to reject cookies, store them for one session only or otherwise delete them prematurely. Most browsers are preset to accept cookies. We use permanent cookies so that you can save user settings (e.g. language, autologin), so that we can better understand how you use our offers and content, and so that we can show you offers and advertising tailored to you (which can also happen on websites of other companies; however, we do not tell them who you are, if we know this at all, because they only see that the same user is on their website who was also on a certain page on our website). Some of the cookies are set by us, some are also set by contractual partners with whom we work. If you block cookies, certain functions (e.g. language selection, shopping cart, ordering processes) may no longer work.

By using our website, you consent to the use of these technologies. If you do not want this, you must set your browser accordingly.

6.2 Newsletters and marketing e-mails

In some of our newsletters and other marketing emails, we also include visible and invisible image elements, where permitted, which we can retrieve from our servers to determine whether and when you have opened the email so that we can measure and better understand how you use our offers and tailor them to you. You can block this in your email program; most are preset to do so.

By agreeing to receive newsletters and other marketing e-mails, you consent to the use of these techniques. If you do not want this, you must set your e-mail program accordingly.

6.3 Google Analytics

We sometimes use Google Analytics or similar services on our websites. This is a service provided by third parties, which may be located in any country in the world (in the case of Google Analytics, it is Google Ireland (based in Ireland), Google Ireland relies on Google LLC (based in the USA) as a processor (both “Google”), www.google.com), with which we can measure and evaluate the use of the website (not personalized). Permanent cookies set by the service provider are also used for this purpose. If you have registered with the service provider yourself, the service provider also knows you. The processing of your personal data by the service provider is then the responsibility of the service provider in accordance with its data protection provisions. The service provider only informs us how our respective website is used (no information about you personally).

6.4 Social networks

We have also used plug-ins from social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn and Instagram on our website. We have configured these elements so that they are deactivated by default. If you click on them, they are activated and the operators of the respective social networks can register that you are on our website and possibly from where you are accessing it. The operators of the respective social networks can register that you are on our website and possibly from where you are accessing it. This information can be used by the network operators for their own purposes. The processing of your personal data is then the responsibility of this network operator and its data protection provisions apply. We do not receive any information about you from the network operators.

In addition to the plug-ins on the website, we are also present on these social networks in order to inform interested parties about our services and to communicate with them if necessary. If you interact with our profiles on these social networks, we may process certain of your personal data. When using these social networks, however, the general terms and conditions (GTC) and terms of use as well as data protection declarations and other provisions of the individual network operators also apply.

7. Who do we share your data with?

As part of our business activities and for the purposes stated in Section 5, we may also disclose your data to third parties to the extent permitted and deemed appropriate. This disclosure takes place either because these recipients process the data for us (so-called processors) or because they wish to use it for their own purposes. These are in particular the following categories of recipients:

Service providers of ours (e.g. trustees, printers, banks, payment service providers, insurance companies, legal advisors, etc.), including processors (e.g. IT and storage providers);
Händler, Lieferanten, Subunternehmer und sonstige Geschäftspartner;
Customers;
domestic and foreign authorities, official bodies or courts;
Media;
Öffentlichkeit, einschliesslich Besuchern von Websites und sozialer Medien;
Competitors, industry organizations, associations, organizations and other bodies;
Acquirers or parties interested in acquiring business divisions, companies or other parts of the company;
other parties in potential or actual legal proceedings.

These recipients are generally located in Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA), but may also be located anywhere in the world. In particular, you must expect your data to be transferred to all countries in which the service providers we use are located (e.g. Microsoft, ABACUS, Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, Zoom).

If a recipient is located in a country without adequate statutory data protection, we contractually oblige the recipient to comply with the applicable data protection (we use the revised standard contractual clauses of the European Commission, which are available here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?), unless the recipient is already subject to a legally recognized set of rules to ensure data protection and we cannot rely on an exception. An exception may apply in particular in the case of legal proceedings abroad, but also in cases of overriding public interests or if the performance of a contract requires such disclosure, if you have given your consent or if the data in question has been made generally accessible by you and you have not objected to its processing.

8. How long do we store your data?

We process and store your personal data for as long as is necessary for the fulfillment of our contractual and legal obligations or otherwise for the purposes pursued with the processing (e.g. as long as there is an interest in our newsletters and you do not unsubscribe from them). For example, we process your personal data for the duration of the entire business relationship (from the initiation and execution to the termination of a contract) and beyond in accordance with the statutory retention and documentation obligations. It is possible that personal data may be stored for the period in which claims can be asserted against our company and insofar as we are otherwise legally obliged to do so or legitimate business interests require this (e.g. for evidence and documentation purposes). As soon as your personal data is no longer required for the above-mentioned purposes, it will be deleted or anonymized as far as possible. For operational data (e.g. system protocols, logs), shorter retention periods of twelve months or less generally apply.

9. How do we protect your data?

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data. This applies in particular to protection against unauthorized access and misuse, such as the issuing of instructions, training, IT and network security solutions, access controls and restrictions, encryption of data carriers and transmissions, pseudonymization and checks.

Despite these security precautions taken by us, the processing of personal data, especially when using the Internet, is always associated with certain risks and security gaps – absolute data security can therefore not be guaranteed.

10. Why do you have to provide us with certain data?

Without certain personal data, it is generally not possible for us to enter into or execute the contractual relationship with you or the entity or person you represent and to fulfill our contractual or, in some cases, legal obligations. We are therefore dependent on you providing us with certain personal data that is necessary for the establishment and execution of our contractual relationship and the fulfillment of the associated contractual obligations. The website cannot be used either if certain information to secure data traffic (such as IP address) is not disclosed.

11. Do we carry out profiling or do we make automated decisions?

As a matter of principle, we do not use fully automated decision-making (as regulated in Art. 22 GDPR) for the establishment and implementation of the business relationship or otherwise. Should we use such procedures in individual cases, we will inform you of this separately if this is required by law and inform you of the associated rights.

12. What rights do you have in connection with your data?

Within the scope of the data protection law applicable to you and to the extent provided for therein (such as in the case of the GDPR), you have the right to information, correction, deletion, the right to restrict data processing and the right to object to our data processing, in particular for the purposes of direct marketing and other legitimate interests in processing, as well as to the disclosure of certain personal data for the purpose of transfer to another body.

Please note, however, that we reserve the right to assert the restrictions provided for by law, for example if we are obliged to store or process certain data, have an overriding interest in doing so (insofar as we are entitled to invoke this) or require it for the assertion of claims.

If you incur costs, we will inform you in advance. We have already informed you about the possibility of withdrawing your consent in section 5. Please note that exercising these rights may conflict with contractual agreements and may have consequences such as premature termination of the contract or cost consequences. We will inform you in advance if this is not already contractually regulated.

If you wish to exercise such rights, we must identify you accordingly, for example by means of a copy of your identity card, unless your identity can otherwise be clearly identified.

To assert your rights, you can contact us at the address given in section 1.

In addition to asserting these rights directly with us, every data subject has the right to enforce their claims in court or to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. In Switzerland, the competent data protection authority is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC): http://www.edoeb.admin.ch.

13. What else you should know…

We may amend and supplement this privacy policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website shall apply. If the data protection declaration is part of an agreement with you, we will inform you of the change by e-mail or in another suitable manner, in particular publication on our website, in the event of an update.