Last updated: 14/10/26
This policy explains how AWF processes users’ personal data in connection with its website and services, in compliance with the GDPR.
This privacy policy consists of:
– our policy regarding the GDPR
– our policy concerning cookies and tracking pixels.
1. GDPR
What is the GDPR?
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a new European Union regulation that replaces the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive. Its objective is to improve the protection of personal data for EU citizens and to strengthen the obligations of companies that collect or process personal data.
Having come into effect on May 25, 2018, it incorporates the requirements of the 1995 directive regarding data security and confidentiality, while also introducing new provisions to bolster the rights of data subjects and impose stricter penalties for violations.
In particular, the GDPR has a much broader territorial scope. Beyond the territory of the EU, it also applies to European nationals based outside the EU, provided that their personal data is being collected and processed.
How does AWF comply with the GDPR?
AWF is GDPR-compliant.
- We strive to collect only the information strictly necessary to process your request or to improve our services.
- We have implemented the necessary measures to obtain prior consent for the collection and processing of your data.
- We ensure that the processing of your data remains aligned with its intended purpose—whether based on consent, the performance of a contract, a legal obligation, or the legitimate interests of AWF’s activities.
- We inform our visitors that their data is being collected, and we are transparent and legitimate regarding how that data is used in relation to the purposes for which it was gathered.
- We honor requests regarding the right of access, the right to rectification, the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), the right to restrict processing, the right to data portability, and the right to object to the collection of data.
- We have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and maintain a register of personal data processing activities.
How does AWF obtain consent from its clients?
Site visitors must provide prior consent when submitting inquiries or viewing our products via our forms.
Recipients of our newsletter have the option to unsubscribe using the unsubscribe link.
Who is the Data Controller and the DPO?
The Data Controller is:
AWF
32 rue Marcel Paul
76600 Le Havre – France
The DPO (Data Protection Officer) is:
Francoise Cahors
Email : marketing [@] awf-france.com
Adress : 32 rue Marcel Paul, 76600 Le Havre, France.
What data is collected?
Depending on how you use the site, the following data may be collected—some of it on an optional basis (only the first three items are mandatory):
- Last name, first name
- Email address
- Company name
- Job title
- Telephone number
- Country
- Industry/Business sector
- Free-text message from the contact form
- Part number
- Browsing information (date, time, product viewed, and associated manufacturer)
- Attachments (photos, documents)
- Training preferences (on-site or at AWF facilities, number of days, number of trainees)
On what legal grounds does AWF process your data?
AWF processes personal data based on the following legal grounds, depending on the nature of the processing activity: The performance of a contract (Article 6.1(b) of the GDPR) serves as the basis for processing our clients’ data in the context of providing our products and services. Legal obligations (Article 6.1(c) of the GDPR) serve as the basis for retaining certain data for accounting, tax, or statutory warranty purposes. AWF’s legitimate interest (Article 6.1(f) of the GDPR) serves as the basis for commercial outreach to existing and prospective professional clients, subject to a balancing test against the rights and interests of the individuals concerned—who retain the right to object to such processing at any time. Finally, the consent of the data subject (Article 6.1(a) of the GDPR) serves as the basis for sending newsletters and commercial communications to individuals with whom AWF has no contractual relationship; this consent may be withdrawn at any time via the unsubscribe link included in every communication, without affecting the lawfulness of any processing that took place prior to the withdrawal. Furthermore, and independently of the above, the placement of non-essential cookies on your device is based on a separate consent, obtained via the cookie management banner in accordance with Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act (*Loi Informatique et Libertés*). This consent may be withdrawn at any time using the cookie management tool, regardless of your choices concerning commercial communications.
|
Purpose of processing |
Legal basis |
Details |
|
Managing requests via forms |
Legitimate interest |
Responding to inquiries |
|
Downloading PDF resources |
Consent |
Email collection option, depending on the form |
|
Anonymized statistics (GA4) |
Consent |
Site performance analysis |
|
Managing site security |
Legitimate interest |
Technical logs, abuse prevention |
|
Managing client services |
Contract |
Audit, modernization |
|
Archiving |
Legal obligation / Legitimate interest |
Limited retention period |
Are your data shared with third parties or transferred outside the European Union?
AWF engages third-party service providers to manage customer relations, marketing activities, and the processing of customer requests. These providers—acting as subcontractors—are based in the EU, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Data transfers are governed by appropriate safeguards in compliance with the GDPR (such as standard contractual clauses and/or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, depending on the case). No personal data is sold to third parties.
Data may also be shared with:
- Hosting provider: WP Serveur
- Emailing/form management: Positive User / WordPress / Ninja Forms
- Analytics: Google Analytics 4
- Cookie consent tool: CookiesYes
No unsecured transfers of data outside the EU take place.
Sub-contractors
|
Sub-contractor |
Country |
Processing Activity |
Safeguards |
|
WP Serveur |
France |
Hosting |
GDPR-compliant |
|
Google Ireland |
EU |
Analytics |
Standard Contractual Clauses |
|
WordPress / plugins |
EU / USA |
Forms |
GDPR-compliant (depending on the plugin) |
|
Positive User |
France |
Consent management |
GDPR and CNIL-compliant |
Security Measures
- HTTPS-enabled sites and forms
- Enhanced authentication
- Regular backups
- Updates to WordPress extensions
- Consent management via CookiesYes
- Isolation of client data
- Secure storage on protected workstations
How long does AWF retain your data?
Data is retained only for as long as is strictly necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. For reference:
- Prospect and business contact data: 3 years from the date of the last active contact.
- Client data: For the duration of the contractual relationship, plus 5 years following its conclusion, in compliance with legal retention requirements and the machine lifecycle, which includes preventive maintenance every 5 years.
- Connection and browsing data: 12 months.
Once these periods have elapsed, the data is archived within our software.
What are your rights regarding your personal data, and how can you exercise them?
In accordance with Articles 15 to 22 of the GDPR, you have the following rights concerning your personal data: the right of access, the right to rectification, the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”), the right to restriction of processing, the right to data portability, and the right to object.
To exercise these rights, please send your request to the Data Protection Officer at: marketing[@]awf-france.com, or by mail to: AWF, Data Protection Officer, 32 rue Marcel Paul, 76600 Le Havre, France. Your request will be processed within one month.
If you believe that the processing of your data does not comply with applicable regulations, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. In France, this is the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL: www.cnil.fr). If you reside in another European Union Member State or in the United Kingdom, you may also contact the data protection authority in your country of residence.
2. Cookies and Tracking Pixels
Who do these cookies apply to?
They apply to you if you are:
- A visitor to the website,
- A recipient of an AWF communication.
AWF processes personal data as part of its various activities, which includes the placement of trackers when you browse a website or interact with communication emails.
The term “cookies” refers to all technologies (including cookies or pixels) that are placed on or read from your device when you visit a website or open an email.
What are the different types of cookies?
A cookie is a small file stored by a server on a user’s device (computer, phone, etc.) and associated with a web domain (in most cases, this means all the pages of a single website). It is used to collect data—including personal information—such as details about the browser being used, the operating system, IP address, device type, location, and the date and time of the browsing session.
Cookies serve various purposes: for example, they can be used to remember your preferences, the language in which a webpage is displayed, or an identifier that tracks your browsing activity for statistical or advertising purposes.
Cookies can be “session” cookies, meaning they are deleted from your device once the session ends and the browser is closed; or they can be “persistent” cookies, which remain stored on your device until their retention period expires (ranging from 90 days to one year).
The cookies we use on our website or in our emails are classified into several categories:
- Strictly necessary cookies: These cookies are essential for the platform to function. They are used, for example, to manage your session, secure access to services, remember certain key settings, and ensure security and compliance with our legal obligations. These cookies cannot be disabled and do not require prior consent.
- Functional cookies: These cookies enable certain features, such as sharing site content on social media. Their use may involve transmitting information about your browsing activity to the providers of these services. They also facilitate access to specific content or services (such as displaying maps or videos, or protecting forms).
- Analytical cookies: These cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. They provide information such as the number of visitors, traffic sources, etc.
- Performance cookies: These cookies are used to understand and analyze key performance indicators for the website, helping to provide a better user experience for visitors.
- Advertising cookies: These cookies are used to provide visitors with personalized advertisements based on the pages they have previously visited, and to analyze the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
With the exception of cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to function, the placement of any cookie on your device is subject to your prior, free, and specific consent.
During your first visit to our site, our cookie management tool, CookiesYes, will appear on your screen, allowing you to accept, decline, or configure your preferences on a category-by-category basis; declining is just as straightforward as accepting.
You have various ways to manage your cookies at any time, and you may modify or withdraw your consent whenever you wish—just as easily as it was originally given—notably by clicking on the cookie icon displayed in the bottom-left corner of the site.
Third-party cookies
Our site uses cookies issued by third parties. You will find a list of the various cookie issuers below.
Our site uses cookies issued by third parties. As most of these service providers are based outside the European Union—notably in the United States—the placement of their cookies involves the transfer of data outside the European Union. These transfers are governed by appropriate safeguards in compliance with the GDPR (such as standard contractual clauses and/or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, depending on the service provider). You will find a list of the various cookie issuers present on our site below:
|
Issuer |
Purpose |
Lifespan |
Transfer outside the EU |
|
Google Analytics |
Statistics |
24 months |
Yes (United States) – standard contractual clauses |
|
Google Fonts |
Functional |
24 months |
Yes (United States) – standard contractual clauses |
|
YouTube |
Functional (embedded content) |
13 months |
Yes (United States) – standard contractual clauses |
|
Google Ads– Conversion tracking |
Marketing |
3 months |
Yes (United States) – standard contractual clauses |
|
Google Tag Manager |
Consent management |
24 months |
Yes (United States) – standard contractual clauses |
Why does AWF use cookies?
AWF uses cookies to:
- Track your browsing activity, adapt site features, and compile statistics to improve the performance and quality of our services,
- Personalize and share content on social media,
- Ensure the proper functioning of third-party services on the site.
Tracking pixel
Our newsletters contain a tracking pixel, implemented via Positive User, which indicates whether an email has been opened. We use this information to gauge interest in our communications, improve their quality, adjust the frequency of our mailings, send follow-ups if a message does not appear to have been opened, and personalize the content of the emails we send. You may manage your preferences regarding the use of this tracking pixel.
The use of a tracking pixel requires prior consent, which is separate from your subscription to our communications. Upon receiving any email from AWF, you may withdraw this consent by using the link provided at the bottom of the email. Withdrawing consent for the tracking pixel does not mean unsubscribing; it simply means that we will no longer collect statistical data regarding whether you open our emails or click on links within them. An unsubscribe link is also included at the bottom of every email you receive. Unsubscribing will stop all promotional communications from AWF. Consent for the use of a tracking pixel has been a mandatory requirement since July 14, 2026.
How can you manage cookies?
You are free to manage your choices regarding the placement of cookies and pixels (with the exception of those that are strictly necessary) via the preference management icon, which can be accessed at the bottom of the website’s pages.
In addition to the cookie settings available on each site, you can manage your cookie preferences through your internet browser. For more information, please refer to the links below:
Microsoft Edge users: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/delete-cookies-in-microsoft-edge-63947406-40ac-c3b8-57b9-2a946a29ae09#:~:text=Delete%20cookies%20every%20time%20you%20close%20the%20browser,on%20the%20Cookies%20and%20other%20site%20data%20toggle
Mozilla Firefox users: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored
Google Chrome users: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en
Safari users: https://help.apple.com/safari/mac/8.0/#/sfri11471
Changes to the Cookie Policy
We reserve the right to make changes to our cookie-related privacy policy.
By continuing to use the AWF website after such changes have been made, you consent to these modifications.