Privacy policy

1 General information

In this privacy policy, we, Schmid AG, energy solutions, in Eschlikon, Switzerland (hereinafter "SAG", "we" or "us"), explain how we collect and otherwise process personal data. This is not an exhaustive description; other data protection declarations or general terms and conditions or similar documents may govern specific matters.

This privacy policy also applies to our subsidiaries Schmid GmbH energy solutions, en-70794 Filderstadt (Bernhausen), Germany, Schmid France, energy solutions, FR-68840 Pulversheim, France, Schmid energy solutions GmbH, AT-8501 Lieboch, Austria, and Schmid Polska Sp. z o.o., PL-82-300 Elbląg, Poland, as well as Schmid Wärmeproduktions GmbH, en-8360 Eschlikon, Switzerland.

Personal data refers to all information relating to an identified or identifiable person.

This Privacy Policy is designed to meet the requirements of the revised Swiss Data Protection Act ("revDSG") and the European General Data Protection Regulation ("EU GDPR").

We treat personal data with care and ask you to do the same. If you provide us with personal data of other persons (e.g. data of contact persons or employees), please ensure that these persons are aware of this privacy policy and only provide us with their personal data if you are permitted to do so and if this personal data is correct.

The managing director of SAG is responsible for the data processing described here. If you have any data protection concerns, you can send them to the following contact address Schmid AG, energy solutions, Hörnlistrasse 12, 8360 Eschlikon, datenschutz@schmid-energy.ch. If you are based in Germany, you can also contact datenschutz@schmid-holzfeuerung.en , in Austria datenschutz@schmid-energy.at.

2 Collection and processing of personal data

We primarily process the personal data that we receive from our customers and other business partners as part of our business relationship with them and other persons involved.

Insofar as this is permitted, we also obtain certain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g. debt collection registers, land registers, commercial registers, press, Internet) or receive such data from other companies, authorities and other third parties. In addition to the data that you provide to us directly, the categories of personal data that we receive about you from third parties include, in particular, information from public registers, information that we learn in connection with official and legal proceedings, information in connection with your professional functions and activities (so that we can, for example to conclude and process transactions with your employer with your help), information about you in correspondence and meetings with third parties, creditworthiness information (insofar as we process transactions with you personally), information about you that people from your environment (family, advisors, legal representatives, etc.) give us so that we can conclude or process contracts with you or with your involvement. We collect data in connection with the use of the website (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).

3 Purposes of data processing and legal basis

We use the personal data collected by us - where necessary based on your consent or based on another justification - primarily to conclude and process our contracts with our customers and business partners and to purchase products and services from our suppliers and subcontractors and to comply with our legal obligations in Switzerland and abroad. If you work for such a customer or business partner, your personal data may of course also be affected in this function.

In addition, we also process personal data of you and other persons for the following purposes, where permitted and where we deem it appropriate, in which we (and sometimes third parties) have a legitimate interest corresponding to the purpose:

• Offering and further developing our products and services and our website
• Communication with third parties and processing their inquiries (e.g. applications, media inquiries)
• Review and optimization of needs analysis procedures 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), unless you have objected to the use of your data (if we send you advertising as an existing customer, you can object to this at any time; we will then put you on a blacklist against further advertising mailings)
• 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)
• Ensuring our operations, in particular IT
• Video surveillance to safeguard domiciliary rights and other 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, remote access to systems)
• Purchase and sale of business divisions, companies or parts of companies and other corporate transactions and the associated transfer of personal data as well as measures for business management and compliance with legal and regulatory obligations

If you have given us your consent to process your personal data for specific purposes (e.g. when you register to receive newsletters or carry out a background check), we will process your personal data within the scope of and based on this consent, unless we have another legal basis, although we require one. Consent that has been given can be withdrawn at any time, but this has no effect on data processing that has already taken place.

4 Cookies / tracking and other technologies in connection with the use of our website

We typically use "cookies" and similar technologies on our website to identify your browser or device. A cookie is a small file that is sent to your computer or automatically stored on your computer or mobile device by the web browser you use when you visit our website. This enables us to recognize you when you return to this website, even if we do not know who you are. In addition to cookies that are only used during a session and are deleted after your visit to the website ("session cookies"), cookies can also be used to store user settings and other information for a certain period of time (e.g. two years) ("permanent cookies"). However, you can set your browser so that it rejects cookies, only stores them for one session or otherwise deletes them prematurely.

Cookies serve different purposes. They are often necessary for optimal website functionality. Other cookies, the use of which you can agree to in the data protection settings on our websites, are used for a personalized and customer-oriented offer on our website.

By using our website and 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 browser or e-mail program accordingly

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. We have configured the service so that the IP addresses of visitors to Google in Europe are truncated before being forwarded to the USA and therefore cannot be traced. We have switched off the settings "Data transfer" and "Signals". Although we can assume that the information we share with Google is not personal data for Google, it is possible that Google can use this data for its own purposes to draw conclusions about the identity of visitors, create personal profiles and link this data to the Google accounts of these persons. 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).

Our websites use the call tracking technology of matelso GmbH, based in Stuttgart, Germany, to ensure the quality of our online services and to optimize them. Each telephone number provided on our website may be a so-called call tracking number, in which information about the telephone call such as the destination number, the duration of the call and the date as well as the exact time of the call are recorded and transferred to a web analysis service used by us (e.g. Google Analytics). Matelso also reads cookies or other parameters set by our analysis service. The corresponding information is processed by Matelso in accordance with our instructions. You can prevent the storage of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser software. For more information about the data processed through the use of Matelso, please refer to the privacy policy at https://www.matelso.com/en/privacy-statement.

Furthermore, company-related data is collected and stored on our websites using SalesViewer® technology from SalesViewer® GmbH, based in Bochum, Germany, for marketing, market research and optimization purposes. The data collected is encrypted and pseudonymized using a non-reversible one-way function (so-called hashing). The stored data relates exclusively to the company and is not used to personally identify visitors to a website. You can object to the collection and storage of data at any time with effect for the future by clicking on this link https://www.salesviewer.com/opt-out in order to prevent the collection of data by SalesViewer® within this website for the future. An opt-out cookie for this website will be set on your device. If you delete your cookies in this browser, you must click on this link again.

5 Newsletter / Events / Advertising

If you register for our newsletter on our website, your e-mail address will be used for information and advertising purposes until you unsubscribe from this newsletter. When you register for the newsletter, we store your e-mail address, your IP address and the date of registration. This storage serves solely as proof in the event that a third party misuses an e-mail address and registers to receive the newsletter without the knowledge of the authorized party.

If you register for information visits, training courses or events organized by SAG, we will only use this data to process your request. This data will be deleted no later than six months after the event, provided there are no statutory retention periods to the contrary.

We will inform you about products and services by e-mail if you have sent us a corresponding inquiry about products or services, if you have expressly given us your consent to use your personal data for advertising purposes (opt-in) or if you have subscribed to one of our newsletters.

Statistical analysis of usage data is possible via email and newsletter tracking. We record the opening of the email as well as the internal clicks in order to make the content more relevant and to measure the success of the campaign.

If you send us an inquiry via our contact form, your details from the inquiry form, including the contact details you provide there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing your inquiry and in the event of follow-up questions on the same topic. This data will not be passed on to third parties.

6 Data transfer and data transmission abroad

Within the scope of our business activities and the purposes set out in Section C., we also disclose data to third parties, insofar as this is permitted and appears appropriate to us, either because they process it for us or because they wish to use it for their own purposes. This applies in particular to the following parties:

• Group companies (in particular those mentioned under section A)
• Service providers of ours (e.g. banks, insurance companies), including processors (e.g. credit rating agencies, IT providers)
• Sales partners, dealers, suppliers, subcontractors and other business partners
• Customers
• domestic and foreign authorities, official bodies or courts
• Industry organizations and associations
• Acquirers or parties interested in acquiring business divisions
• other parties in potential or actual legal proceedings

(all together "recipient")

Some of these recipients are in Germany, but they can be anywhere in the world. In particular, you must expect your data to be transferred to all countries where the service providers we use are located.

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.

7 Duration of storage of personal 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, i.e. for the duration of the entire business relationship (from the initiation, execution to the termination of a contract) as well as beyond that 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.

8 Data security

We take appropriate technical and organizational security precautions to protect your personal data from unauthorized access and misuse.

9 Obligation to provide personal data

As part of our business relationship, you must provide the personal data that is necessary for the establishment and execution of a business relationship and the fulfillment of the associated contractual obligations (as a rule, you do not have a legal obligation to provide us with data). Without this data, we will generally not be able to conclude or execute a contract with you (or the entity or person you represent). The website can also not be used if certain information to secure data traffic (such as IP address) is not disclosed.

10 Rights of the data subject

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, as well as to the disclosure of certain personal data for the purpose of transfer to another body (so-called data portability) within the framework of the data protection law applicable to you and to the extent provided for therein. 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. 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.

The exercise of such rights generally requires that you clearly prove your identity (e.g. by means of a copy of your identity card, where your identity is otherwise not clear or cannot be verified). To assert your rights, you can contact us at the address given in section A.

11 Right of appeal

If you believe that the processing of your personal data violates the EU GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority, without prejudice to any other legal remedies.

12 Changes

We may amend this privacy policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website applies.