Privacy Policy

The website www.vector-corrosion.com (the “Site”), is operated by Vector Corrosion Technologies Ltd, a private limited company incorporated and registered in Canada with registration number 86561 1677. (also referred to as “Vector”, “us”, or “we”).  We respect your right to control your personal information. That is why we have developed this privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) which describes, amongst other matters:

• the types of personal information we collect about you;
• the purposes for which we collect that information;
• how we use that information;
• with whom we share that information;
• how we safeguard that information;
• the choices available to you regarding how we use your personal information; and
• how you can contact us about our privacy practices.

This page contains the Privacy Policy for the Site, as well as for any other websites or microsites operated by Vector (collectively and together with the Site, the “Sites”).This Privacy Policy also applies to any web applications, mobile applications, tools, forums, social media pages offered by Vector on the Sites, or any online services offered by Vector, including but not limited to providing information and advertising related to our products, services, markets, and seminars offered and to other interactions you may have with us, whether online, over the phone or otherwise (together with the Sites, the “Service”).  

It is important that you read this Privacy Policy together with any other privacy policy or fair processing policy Vector may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal information about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your information.  This Privacy Policy supplements other notices and privacy policies and is not intended to override them.

We have appointed a data privacy manager who is responsible for overseeing questions from individuals in relation to this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, including any requests to exercise your personal information rights (which are themselves explained in Section 18), please contact the data privacy manager using the following details:

Name of legal entity: Vector Corrosion Technologies Ltd. (incorporated and registered in Canada with registration number 86561 1677.)

Data privacy manager: Katie Peterson

Postal Address:  474B Dovercourt Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3Y1G4

Telephone No: (204) 489-6300

E-mail: KatieP@Vector-Corrosion.com

1. Definitions

For the purposes of the Privacy Policy, the following words have the following meanings:

“collection” means the act of gathering, acquiring, recording or obtaining personal information from any source, including third parties, by any means.

“disclosure” means making personal information available to a third party.

“employee” means an employee of Vector, and for the purpose of the Privacy Policy only, includes agents, independent and other contractors performing services for Vector.

“non-personal information” means information that does not identify a specific individual and which we are unable to connect to other information in order to identify a specific individual.

“Organization” means a company, entity or organization, including any business, but does not include an individual.

“personal information” means information about an identifiable individual, but not aggregated information that cannot be associated with a specific individual. 

“third party” means an individual other than the user, or the user's agent. It also means an organization other than Vector, or if the user is an organization, third party refers to an organization other than the user.

“use” means the treatment, handling and management of personal information by and within Vector.

“user” means an individual who visits the Sites and/or accesses the Service and/or uses the Service, as well as an Organization which visits the Sites and/or accesses the Services and/or uses the Service.

2. Personal Information We Collect

When you interact with us whether through the Site or otherwise, we may collect or receive the following types of information.  We may use, store and transfer information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Personal Information You Provide To Us

You may provide us with your personal information in different ways. For example, we may collect any or all of the following personal information: 

1. information that you provide when you complete forms on the Site or otherwise correspond with us (by whatever means), such as your name, company name, job title/role/position, email address, telephone number(s), postal address;

2. information about purchases you make including details of the purchase, bank information, billing address and shipping address;

3. information that you provide to Vector when you subscribe to our newsletter including your name and email address;

4. your correspondence with Vector employees or independent contractors, including any feedback, questions, concerns or comments you may have about the Service or problems that you report and including any responses you complete in respect of surveys or questionnaires;

5. comments, videos, photographs, and any other content or information that you may submit to us or the Site; and/or

6. details of your requests made through the Site or otherwise raised with us.

Technical Information We or Third Parties Collect Automatically

When you visit the Site or interact with our newsletters, we or third parties (such as Google, Youtube and Microsoft) may collect, using electronic means, technical information. This information may include:

1. the IP address of your computer and which browser you use, including browser plug in type and version;
2. operating system and operating platform;
3. resolution of screen;
4. location and time zone setting;
5. language settings in browsers;
6. the site you came from and searched for keywords if arriving from a search engine; and/or
7. your interactions with our Site and/newsletter, including what you click on.

This technical information (some of which in certain instances may be considered personal information) is aggregated and used to measure and improve effectiveness of our Site. We do not attempt to combine this technical information with other personal information we collect.

Special Categories of Personal Information

We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Information about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

3. Legal Basis for Processing Your Personal Information

Our legal basis for collecting and using personal information described in this Privacy Policy will depend on the personal information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it.

Below are the types of lawful basis that, depending on the circumstances, we may rely on to process your personal information:

Note that we may process your personal information for more than one lawful basis depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your information. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal basis we are relying on to process your personal information.

4. Purpose of Collection and Use of Personal Information

Vector collects your personal information and will use your personal information as is reasonably required for the following purposes:

1. to provide the Service, and/or the other products/services or information that you request;
2. to verify your identity if you submit comments, videos, photographs, opinions, or any other content or information;
3. to respond to feedback, questions, comments, requests, or complaints that you submit to Vector;
4. to register you or an organization you work for as a new customer;
5. to process, manage and deliver orders;
6. to manage payment and charges for our products and services, including to collect and recover money owed to Vector;
7. to allow you to leave reviews or feedback or to ask you and allow you to take part in surveys and competitions;
8. to track communications with you;
9. to analyze use of the Site and to improve the Site;
10. to send emails, newsletters, regular mail or other communications from Vector;
11. to make suggestions about products/services you may be interested in;
12. to provide announcements or notifications to you, including to notify you about changes to this Privacy Policy;
13. to aggregate your personal information resulting from the combination and/or aggregation of certain raw personal information collected from you with other data in a way that no longer personally identifies you;
14. to display advertising on the Site or to manage and serve our advertising on other sites. See Section 15 on targeted advertising and how you may opt out;
15. to fulfill a purpose that we disclose to you when we request your personal information;
16. to meet legal and regulatory requirements;
17. to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you (see Section 13 for more details on our use of cookies and similar technologies);
18. to use data analytics to improve the Site, the Service, marketing, customer relationships and experiences (see Section 13 for more details on our use of cookies and similar technologies and Section 16 for more details about analytics);
19. to make suggestions and recommendations to you about goods or services that may be of interest to you (and see Section 15 for more details on targeted advertising); and/or
20. to administer and protect Vector’s business, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data.

Your personal information will only be collected and used by Vector and employees, independent contractors, agents, partners and service providers in a manner consistent with the activities of Vector. Access to your personal information by Vector employees, independent contractors, agents, partners and service providers is limited only to those authorized, based on their need to deal with the personal information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained, including to enable them to perform a business, professional or technical support function for Vector.

If you fail to provide personal information

Where Vector needs to collect personal information by law, under the terms of a contract Vector has with you or in order to provide you with the Service, and you fail to provide that information when requested, Vector may not be able to perform the contract it has or is trying to enter into with you or may not be able to provide the Service to you. In this case, Vector may have to cancel a product or service but Vector will notify you if this is the case at the time.

5. Disclosure of Personal Information

Vector may disclose your personal information to:

1. Vector’s employees and Vector partner companies, independent contractors that provide IT and systems administration services, agents and affiliated distributors, professional advisors including lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers, distributors, retailers, tax and government authorities, regulators fraud prevention agencies as is reasonably necessary to enable these parties to perform a business, professional or technical support function for Vector;
2. a person who, in the reasonable judgment of Vector, is seeking the information as your agent; and
3. [a third party or parties, where you consent to such disclosure or the disclosure is permitted or required by law].

The parties mentioned above may be based in the UK, Canada or the US.

Vector requires all third parties to respect the security of your personal information and to treat it in accordance with the law. Vector does not allow its third-party service providers to use your personal information for their own purposes and only permits them to process your personal information or specified purposes and in accordance with Vector’s instructions.

Corporate Reorganization and Business Transfers

Vector may also disclose your personal information in connection with a corporate re-organization, a merger or amalgamation with another entity, a sale of all or a substantial portion of our assets or stock, including any due diligence exercise carried out in relation to same, provided that the information disclosed continues to be used for the purposes permitted by the Privacy Policy by the entity acquiring the information.

6. Change of Purpose

Vector will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another purpose and that purpose is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and obtain your express consent to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal information without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.

7. Children

The Site and Service is intended for general audiences and is not directed to anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from an individual under the age of 18, we will take appropriate steps to delete that personal information. If you become aware or believe that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us using the details set out at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.

8. Safeguarding Your Personal Information

Vector is committed to safeguarding your personal information. Vector uses appropriate security measures to protect personal information against risks such as loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, misuse, modification or destruction, and any other unlawful form of processing of the personal information in our possession regardless of the format in which it is held. The methods of protection and safeguards used by Vector include, but are not limited to:

• Administrative safeguards such as privacy and security policies and procedures, privacy and data protection training for Vector employees, independent contractors, and agents, and non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements;
• Technical safeguards such as security testing, vulnerability scans, and technological measures, including the use of passwords, encryption, firewalls, and secure coding frameworks;
• Physical safeguards such as need-to-know access for Vector employees, independent contractors, agents, partners and service providers.

In any organization, failure to protect personal information can increase the risk of a privacy breach which can lead to things such as financial loss, reputational harm, fraud, or identity theft. While Vector cannot guarantee that a privacy breach will not occur, Vector will make every effort to prevent such occurrences by implementing the above security safeguards.

Vector has put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal information breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

Vector also ensures that its employees, independent contractors, agents, partners and service providers with access to personal information are made aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information.

Vector takes care in disposing of or destroying personal information to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to the information.

While Vector is committed to safeguarding your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any personal information we collect either directly or automatically from you, and you provide your personal information at your own risk.

Vector cannot guarantee that such personal information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our security safeguards. To the degree that personal information is of a sensitive nature, in the event of a breach, there may be a risk of significant harm to you which includes bodily harm, humiliation, damage to reputation or relationships, loss of employment, business or professional opportunities, financial loss, identity theft, negative effects on the credit record and damage to or loss of property.

Vector also cannot guarantee that information sent or received over the Internet is secure and does not make any representation or warranty concerning the security of personal information communicated to or from Vector via the Internet or regarding the interception by third parties.

9. Cross Border Transfer of Personal Information

Subject to any contractual restrictions as between Vector and an Organization, your personal information may be stored and processed in any country (e.g. Canada, United States) where we are based or we engage third party service providers. While such information is outside of your country of residence, it is subject to the law of the country in which it is held, and may be subject to disclosure to the governments, courts, law enforcement agencies or regulatory agencies of such other country, pursuant to the laws of such country. For example, personal information stored in the United States is subject to the USA PATRIOT ACT. However, our practices will at all times continue to be governed by this Privacy Policy.

Vector has measures in place to ensure that during cross-border transfers of your personal information the personal information is subject to appropriate safeguards in accordance with data protection laws. These measures typically include contractual safeguards stipulating the confidentiality of the information and the purposes for which it is to be used. Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal information.

Where and when appropriate, we will transmit amended personal information to third parties having access to the personal information in question.

10. Retention of Personal Information

Vector will only keep personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the relevant purposes set out in the Privacy Policy or communicated to you and in order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.  If your personal information is used to send Vector marketing to you then we will continue to hold this until such time as you notify us that you no longer wish to receive such communications or until we otherwise receive information that it is no longer relevant (for example that you have left an organization).  This will not affect any other communications we may send to you in relation to products or services, or other matters relating to our relationship.

To determine the appropriate retention period for your information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your information, the purposes for which we process your information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

11. Non-Personal Information

Vector may collect, use and disclose non-personal information, including aggregated data resulting from the combination and/or aggregation or certain raw data collected from you with other data in a way that no longer personally identifies you. We make no attempt to link this non-personal information with the identity of individuals. We may permanently archive non-personal information for future use in any manner whatsoever.

12. Accuracy of Personal Information

Vector is committed to keeping your personal information as complete, up-to-date and accurate as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used. Vector will promptly correct or complete any personal information found to be inaccurate or incomplete. Where appropriate, Vector will transmit amended information to third parties having access to the personal information in question.

Please see Section 17 in relation to your legal rights relating to the accuracy of or the correction of personal information Vector holds about you.

It is important that the personal information Vector holds about you is accurate and current. Please keep Vector informed if your personal information changes during your relationship with us.

13. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Site uses “cookies”, which are small text files placed on your computer or other device when you visit a website. When you visit the site again, the cookie allows that site to recognize your browser. Cookies may store user preferences and other information.

There are three main types of cookies:

1. Session Cookies are specific to a particular visit and limited to sending session identifiers (random numbers generated by the server) so you do not have to re-enter information when you navigate to a new page or check out. Session cookies are not permanently stored on your device and are deleted when the browser closes;
2. Persistent Cookies record information about your preferences and are stored in your browser cache or mobile device and remain on your device between browsing sessions. For example, a persistent cookie may be used on a website to remember your log-in details so you will not need to enter those details each time you visit that website; and
3. Third Party Cookies placed by someone other than us which may gather data across multiple websites or sessions.

We use the below listed cookies to perform the following functions:

1. Strictly Necessary / Technical Cookies that are essential to enable you to move around a website and use its features. You cannot withdraw your consent to the use of these types of cookies because without them, the Site and Service cannot be provided.
2. Analytical / Performance Cookies that collect information in aggregated form about how users interact with the Site and Service so that we may improve functionality, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. These cookies are sometimes placed by third party providers which enable features or functionality provided by third parties in connection with the Site and Service. For example, advertising, interactive content, and analytics (see Section 16). The parties that set these third-party cookies can recognize your device both when it visits the website in question and also when it visits certain other websites.
3. Functional Cookies that allow a website to remember choices you make, recognize you when you return and to personalize content (for example, your choice of language or region).
4. Targeting / Advertising Cookies that track browser habits and used to deliver targeted (interest-based) advertising based on your browsing activities and interests. See Section 15 on how you may opt out of targeting advertising.

You acknowledge that where we allow third parties (such as Youtube, Microsoft or Google) to drop cookies, we have no control over those cookies or the data generated. Please refer to the third party’s privacy policy for information on what information they collect and how they use it. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.

Other Technologies

We may use other technologies similar to cookies like web beacons, which are sometimes called “tracking pixels” or “clear gifs”. These are tiny graphics files that contain a unique identifier that enable us to recognize when someone has visited the Site or used the Service or opened an email that we have sent them. In many instances, these technologies are reliant on cookies to function properly, and so declining cookies will impair their functioning.

Right to Refuse the Use of Information Collection Technologies

We obtain your consent to our information collection technologies through our opt-in mechanism on the Service. You have the right to object to the use of information collection technologies such as cookies. Regular cookies may generally be disabled or removed by tools that are available as part of most commercial browsers, and in some but not all instances can be blocked in the future by selecting certain settings. Each browser you use will need to be set separately and different browsers offer different functionality and options in this regard.

Please be aware that if you disable or remove these technologies you may find that certain functions and features will not work as intended on the Site and that when you revisit the Site your ability to limit cookies is subject to your browser settings and limitations.

14. Links to Other Websites

The Site may contain links to other sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This Privacy Policy only applies to personal information that we collect, use and disclose. We are not responsible or liable for the privacy practices of third parties, and we strongly recommend that you review their privacy policies before you disclose personal information to them.

15. Targeted Advertising and How You May Opt Out

We may use third party advertising partners such as advertising networks, exchanges, and social media platforms to display advertising on the Site or to manage and serve our advertising on other sites. You have a variety of options to opt out of interest-based advertising ranging from browser controls, add on utilities such as ad blockers, and other opt out tools. Opt out tools may include organizations such as:

• Network Advertising Initiative: https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1;
• Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) of Canada: https://youradchoices.ca/;
• DAA YourAdChoices: https://youradchoices.ca/en/tools;
• Your Online Choices: youronlinechoices.com/uk

16. Analytics

The Site utilizes Google Analytics, a web analysis service from Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies," which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the Site, compiling reports on the activity of the Site for the Site’s operators and providing other services relating to website activity and Internet usage. The information generated by the cookie (including the IP address) is transferred and stored on a Google server located in the United States.

Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other information held by Google.

We may also use additional analytics programs from time to time to process non-personal information about you, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 and YouTube Analytics. Modern browsers will allow you to turn off or stop accepting the cookies that power these programs. Please remember that turning off some cookies may result in our site not working as intended.

We make no attempt to link this non-personal information with the identity of individuals using the Site. Non-personal information may be permanently archived for future use in any manner whatsoever by Vector.

Disable Google Analytics

You can prevent the collection and processing of cookie created data relating to your utilization of the Site (including your IP) via Google by downloading and installing the browser-plugin available under the following link (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en).

Google currently offers this opt-out tool for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Microsoft Edge.

Further information concerning the terms and conditions of Google’s use and data privacy can be found at https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html or at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

17. Your Personal Information Rights

Under certain circumstances and in accordance with your country’s applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at/on the details provided at the beginning of this Privacy Policy These rights are not absolute and they do not always apply in all cases.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request in order to help us respond efficiently to your request.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal information (or to exercise any of the above rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

In addition, you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk), Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Canadian regulator for data protection issues (www.priv.gc.ca) or. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach a regulator so please contact us in the first instance.

18. Complaints

Vector will promptly investigate all complaints concerning our compliance with this Privacy Policy and our dealings with your personal information. If a complaint is found to be justified, Vector will take appropriate measures to resolve the complaint, including, if necessary, amending our policies and procedures. You will be informed of the outcome of the investigation regarding your complaint. This does not affect your rights to make a compliant to the ICO, as further detailed in Section 17.

19. Unsubscribe from Commercial Electronic Messages

We may send you commercial electronic messages (such as marketing or promotional messages) if you have:

• provided us with your express consent to receive these messages;
• recently purchased or leased a product or service from us;
• entered into a contract with us or some other form of business relationship with us;
• requested information from us; or
• applicable law otherwise permits us to send commercial electronic messages to you.

If you no longer wish to receive commercial electronic messages from Vector regarding our new products or services, promotions or other similar communications, you may unsubscribe here. Please note that, after you unsubscribe, Vector may still send electronic communications to you in certain limited circumstances, such as to provide you with service notifications and billing information, or to provide information that Vector is legally obligated to provide you.

20. Privacy Policy Changes

We may modify the Privacy Policy to accommodate changes in our services, changes in technology and legal developments. If we make changes to the Privacy Policy, we will provide notice through the Site, or by other means to provide you the opportunity to review the changes before they become effective. For example, we may place a prominent notice on the Site or e-mail you to let you know of an updated Privacy Policy.

If we make significant changes to the Privacy Policy, we will provide at least 30 days’ notice through the Site, or by other means, to provide you the opportunity to review the changes and provide your required consent before they become effective. A significant change may be using personal information for a new purpose or disclosures to new third parties.

You acknowledge that your continued use of the Site after we modify this Privacy Policy, publish or send a notice about our changes to the Privacy Policy means that the collection, use and sharing of your personal information is subject to the updated Privacy Policy.

If you object to any changes to this Privacy Policy you may stop using the Site and Service.

Whenever we update this Privacy Policy, we will change the date below to indicate when the changes were made.

Date: January 1, 2024