1. Introduction and Scope
This Privacy Policy describes the practices of Star Shinning International Limited, trading through the GeneWTech brand, in relation to personal information that we receive, hold, process or disclose in the course of running our sensor counter and the website you are now reading. It applies to visitors to the website, prospective buyers who send enquiries, existing customers who place orders, suppliers who work with our purchasing team, and visitors who attend our counter premises in person.
The GeneWTech developer mark and the Star Shinning International Limited company name are separate identifiers used in different contexts. The website, the counter stationery, the packing labels and the sales correspondence of the business are prepared and maintained under the GeneWTech brand, while the legal entity that contracts with buyers, employs staff and holds the commercial relationship is Star Shinning International Limited. This policy is issued by the company and covers all activity carried out under either identifier.
We operate from Hong Kong and we sell sensor modules, cable bundles and starter kits to business customers who design, install and maintain integrated systems. That business model shapes this policy. Most of the information we hold relates to companies and their representatives rather than to consumers, and most of the data flows through ordinary business channels such as email, telephone calls, written quotes and purchase orders rather than through elaborate online profiles.
This policy does not cover the practices of any other organisation, including the engineering firms, contractors and resellers who may introduce you to our counter. It also does not cover third party websites that you reach through a link from our pages. We encourage you to read the privacy notices of any service you use before you share personal information with it.
Where you provide information about another person, for example the name of a colleague who will collect an order or the contact details of a site engineer, you should make sure that the person is aware that the information has been passed to us and that they understand how it will be used. We rely on you to do this because we have no direct relationship with that person at the point of collection.
By continuing to use this website or by sending an enquiry to our sales desk, you acknowledge that you have read this policy and that you understand the practices it describes. If you do not agree with any part of it, you should not submit personal information through the website and you should contact us by telephone if you still wish to discuss a potential order.
2. Who We Are
Star Shinning International Limited is the data user responsible for the personal information described in this policy. The company operates a sensor counter that supplies proximity sensor modules, ribbon cable bundles and starter kit boxes to buyers working in computer systems design and related technical fields.
Our registered and operating address in Hong Kong is:
Star Shinning International Limited
Rm B 2/F Silvercorp Intl Tower, 707-713 Nathan Rd, Mong Kok, Hong Kong - 999077, Hong Kong (HK)
Our sales desk can be reached by email at sales@genewtech.mom and by telephone at +14019229680. The counter is staffed from Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 18:00 and on Saturday morning between 09:00 and 13:00, Hong Kong time. Enquiries received outside those hours are logged and answered on the next working day.
The company does not appoint a statutory data protection officer because its processing activities are limited to ordinary commercial administration. Responsibility for privacy matters rests with the counter manager, who can be reached through the sales desk contacts above and who reviews this policy twice each year.
If you are unsure whether this policy applies to a particular interaction, the simplest test is whether the interaction concerns the GeneWTech website, the Star Shinning International Limited counter, or an order placed with either of them. If it does, this policy applies. If it concerns an unrelated product or a company that merely shares our building, it does not.
3. Information We Collect
We collect information that you choose to provide, information that is generated when you use the website, and information that is created in the ordinary course of a commercial relationship. The categories below describe the extent of what we hold. We do not seek information beyond what the counter needs to quote, supply and support an order.
Information you provide directly
- Your name, job title and the name of the organisation you represent.
- Your business email address and business telephone number.
- The delivery address, collection address and any site reference connected to an order.
- The content of messages that you send through the contact form, by email or by telephone.
- Part lists, drawings, photographs and technical notes that you attach to an enquiry.
- Purchase order numbers, invoice references and payment correspondence.
- Names of colleagues or contractors who will collect goods on your behalf.
Information generated by website use
- The pages you visit and the links you follow within the site.
- The approximate region from which a request arrives, derived from network routing information.
- The browser type, operating system and screen size reported by your device.
- The date and time of each request and any error code returned by the server.
Information created during order handling
- Counter references, dispatch records and test notes attached to a carton.
- Warranty swap records describing a returned unit and the outcome of the swap.
- Correspondence about a quotation, a revision or a dispute.
- Records of visits to the counter premises, including the name given at reception.
We do not collect identity document numbers, biometric data, health information, precise location tracking data or any special category of personal information in the course of normal business. If a buyer volunteers such information in a message, we will delete it from our records where it is not needed for the order.
We do not ask for and do not store full payment card numbers. Payments are arranged through bank transfer or through the buyer payment systems that a customer chooses to use, and those systems handle card data under their own terms.
4. How We Collect Information
Information reaches us in several different ways, and the route it takes affects how long we keep it and who inside the company can see it.
The contact form on the website is the most direct route. When you complete the form and submit it, your email application prepares a message addressed to our sales desk and carries the fields you entered. We do not store form submissions in a database on the website host. The message arrives in our sales inbox in the same way as any other email, and it is handled by the same staff.
Email correspondence is the main channel for quotations, part lists and order confirmations. Our sales desk keeps a mailbox for each active customer account, and messages are filed by counter reference so that a buyer who returns a year later can be matched to the right history.
Telephone calls are answered by the counter staff. We do not record calls. Staff may make a written note of a call when it concerns an order detail, a stock position or a warranty claim, and that note is filed with the account.
Counter visits produce a small written record at reception, usually a name and the person being met. That record is kept only for site safety and fire roll purposes and is discarded after a short period.
Website access logs are generated automatically by our hosting environment. These logs record the network address of the request, the page requested, the outcome and the time. They are used for security and availability monitoring, not for profiling, and they are deleted on a rolling schedule that is described in the retention section of this policy.
Suppliers and partners may pass us the name and contact details of a person who will handle a delivery or a technical question. When that happens we treat the information as if you had provided it directly and apply the same protections.
5. Why We Use Information
We use personal information for the purposes for which it was provided and for closely related purposes that a reasonable person would expect from a working supplier. The main purposes are set out below.
To answer enquiries. When you ask about stock, thread sizes, coil lengths or kit contents, we need your contact details so that we can send a reply and follow up on any point that is unclear.
To prepare quotations. A quote names a price, a lead time and an assembly scope. Preparing it involves matching the detail of your request to the parts on our trays and recording the result against your account.
To fulfil orders. Fulfilment covers reservation, assembly, labelling, dispatch, collection and the paperwork that accompanies a carton. It requires the delivery details, the part list and the name of the person who will collect the goods.
To handle warranty swaps. A swap request is matched to the original counter reference so that we can identify the unit, assess the failure and record the replacement. The record protects both parties if a second failure occurs.
To maintain business records. Accounting, tax and audit obligations require us to keep invoices, purchase orders and payment records for a defined period. Those records name the individuals who placed or approved an order.
To improve the website and the counter. Aggregate website logs help us understand which pages are used and where a link fails. Counter records help us identify parts that are requested often and should be held in larger quantities.
To protect the business. We may use information to detect fraud, respond to a legal claim, enforce our terms of service or cooperate with a lawful investigation. This purpose is narrow and is exercised only when there is a specific reason.
To send relevant commercial information. Where you have agreed to receive it, we may send occasional notes about stock availability, new module variants or counter opening hours. You can stop these messages at any time by replying to the message or by writing to the sales desk.
6. Lawful Basis for Processing
We process personal information because it is necessary to perform a contract with you or with the organisation you represent, because it is necessary for a legitimate business interest that is not overridden by your rights, because you have given consent, or because the law requires it. The basis depends on the activity.
Quoting, supplying and supporting an order are contract activities. Without the name, contact details and delivery address of the buyer, we cannot complete the transaction that the buyer has asked for.
Website security monitoring, counter stock planning and general business administration rest on legitimate interests. These activities are proportionate, they are limited to what the business needs, and they do not involve profiling or automated evaluation of individuals.
Marketing messages rest on consent where consent is required, and on an existing customer relationship where the law permits a soft opt-in. You can withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of earlier processing.
Accounting and tax record keeping rest on legal obligation. Records that fall into this category are kept even after a customer relationship ends, and they are not used for any other purpose.
8. Service Providers
Like most small businesses, we rely on service providers for hosting, email and accounting. Each provider is selected for its reliability and is engaged under terms that restrict its use of the information to the service it provides to us.
Our website is served by a hosting provider that keeps access logs for security purposes. The provider does not receive customer names, order details or message contents except where those details are part of a request that it must process in order to serve a page.
Our email is handled by a commercial mail service. Messages sent to the sales desk rest on that service until they are filed or deleted in accordance with our retention rules. The mail provider applies its own security controls, and we require it to keep message content confidential.
Our accounting records are held in a bookkeeping system used by our finance staff and reviewed by external accountants. Access is protected by individual accounts and multi factor authentication where the system supports it.
Where a provider uses a subcontractor, the subcontractor is bound by the same restrictions. We review the list of providers once a year and remove any service that no longer serves a necessary purpose.
9. International Transfers
We are based in Hong Kong and most of our processing takes place there. Some service providers process data in other jurisdictions, and some buyers or suppliers are located outside Hong Kong. Where information is transferred across a border, we take steps to ensure that it continues to receive protection comparable to the protection described in this policy.
Transfers to a provider are covered by contract terms that require confidentiality, security and limits on use. Where the destination jurisdiction has a data protection framework that is recognised as adequate, we rely on that framework. Where it does not, we use contractual safeguards and we limit the categories of information that are transferred.
A buyer who sends an enquiry from outside Hong Kong should understand that the message will be processed in Hong Kong and may be routed through servers in other regions as part of ordinary internet transmission. By sending the message, the buyer accepts that routing.
If you would like to know which jurisdictions are involved in a particular transfer, write to the sales desk and the question will be answered specifically rather than with a general statement.
10. Retention of Information
We keep information only for as long as it serves the purpose for which it was collected or as long as the law requires. The periods below describe our normal practice. A particular record may be kept longer if it is needed for an active dispute or a legal obligation.
- Enquiries that do not become orders are deleted after twelve months.
- Quotations that are not accepted are deleted after eighteen months.
- Order, dispatch and warranty records are kept for seven years to match accounting and tax requirements.
- Invoice and payment records are kept for seven years and are then deleted or archived in a form that no longer identifies individuals where possible.
- Website access logs are kept for ninety days.
- Counter reception records are discarded at the end of each working week.
- Marketing consent records are kept for as long as consent is active and for two years after it is withdrawn, so that we can demonstrate that we stopped sending messages.
When a retention period ends, the record is deleted from the active systems and from backups as the backup cycle rolls. If a record cannot be deleted immediately because it sits in an archived backup, it is isolated from normal use and deleted at the next restore or purge cycle.
11. Security Measures
We protect personal information with technical and organisational measures that are appropriate to the size and nature of our business. No system is perfectly secure, and we do not claim otherwise, but we work to reduce the risk of loss, misuse and unauthorised access.
Access to customer records is limited to staff who need it. Accounts are protected by individual passwords, and shared logins are not used for customer mailboxes. Where a service supports it, we enable multi factor authentication.
The website is served over an encrypted connection, so that information entered into the contact form is protected while it travels between your browser and our mail service.
Records are backed up regularly. Backups are stored separately from the working systems, and access to backups is limited to the staff who administer them.
Staff are briefed on the importance of confidentiality and are asked to report a suspected breach immediately. Paper records are kept in locked cabinets at the counter, and documents that are no longer needed are shredded rather than discarded in general waste.
If a breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to the rights of individuals, we will notify the affected parties and the relevant authority without undue delay, and we will describe what happened in plain terms rather than in vaguely reassuring language.
13. Marketing Communications
We send marketing messages only to people who have asked to receive them or who are existing customers of the counter. Messages are infrequent and concern stock availability, new module variants, counter opening hours and changes to our services.
Every marketing message includes a simple way to stop receiving further messages. You can reply to the message with a request to stop, or write to the sales desk at any time. We action the request within two working days and do not ask you to justify it.
Stopping marketing messages does not stop operational messages. If you have an active order, a warranty claim or an open quotation, we will still contact you about that matter because the contact is necessary to complete the work you asked for.
We do not buy contact lists, and we do not add the addresses of people who simply enquire about a part to a marketing list without their agreement. An enquiry is a conversation, not a subscription.
14. Your Rights
Subject to the law that applies to you, you have a set of rights over the personal information we hold. We honour those rights on request, and we do not charge a fee for a reasonable request.
You have the right to know whether we hold information about you and to receive a copy of it. You have the right to ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete. You have the right to ask us to delete information that is no longer needed, subject to our legal record keeping obligations.
You have the right to restrict how we use information while a question about its accuracy is resolved. You have the right to object to processing that relies on legitimate interests, and we will stop unless we have a compelling reason that overrides your objection.
You have the right to receive information that you provided to us in a structured, commonly used format, and to ask us to send it to another organisation where that is technically possible.
You have the right to withdraw consent for marketing at any time, and the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces a legal or similarly significant effect. We do not carry out that kind of automated decision making.
We will respond to a rights request within thirty days of receiving enough information to identify you and to understand the request. If a request is complex or covers a large volume of records, we will tell you that the response will take longer and explain why.
15. Access and Correction Requests
To ask for a copy of your information or to correct it, write to the sales desk at sales@genewtech.mom with the subject line Access or Correction Request. Include your name, the email address you used with us and a description of the information you are asking about.
For security, we may ask you to confirm your identity before we release records. A short telephone call to +14019229680 is usually enough. If the request concerns an account held by a company, we may ask the company to confirm that you are authorised to make the request.
If we cannot comply with a request in full, we will explain the reason. Common reasons include a legal obligation to keep a record, a risk to the privacy of another person, or a request that is manifestly unfounded or excessive. We will still do as much as we can within those limits.
If a correction is made, we will notify any organisation to which the information was disclosed, provided that notification is reasonable and the organisation can be identified.
16. Privacy for Children
This website and the counter services it describes are aimed at business customers. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of eighteen, and we do not offer products for personal or household use.
If you believe that a child has sent personal information to the counter, write to the sales desk and the information will be checked and removed if it was collected without appropriate authority. We will confirm the removal in writing.
Visitors under the age of eighteen should not attend the counter premises without an adult, and should not submit information through the website. This restriction exists for safety and clarity rather than for any commercial reason.
17. Third Party Links
Our pages may link to external websites, such as a carrier tracking page, a manufacturer datasheet or a payment service. Those websites are not under our control, and their privacy practices may differ from ours.
We provide links because they are useful to buyers, not as an endorsement of the practices on the destination site. When you follow a link, the destination site may collect information under its own policy, and you should review that policy before providing personal information.
We do not accept responsibility for the content, security or privacy practices of an external site. If a link on our pages is broken or leads to inappropriate material, please report it to the sales desk and it will be reviewed.
18. Changes in Business Structure
If the company is reorganised, merges with another business, or transfers part of its operations, personal information may be transferred to the new entity as part of the transaction. Any transfer will be made on the understanding that this policy continues to apply until a new policy is published and communicated.
Where a transfer affects customers directly, we will notify the affected accounts by email before the transfer takes effect where it is practical to do so. The notice will explain what is changing, who will hold the information after the transfer and how to exercise rights under the new arrangement.
Information that is subject to a legal retention obligation will continue to be kept for the required period even if the business that created the record no longer exists in its original form.
19. Automated Decision Making
We do not use automated systems to make decisions about individuals that have a legal or similarly significant effect. Credit decisions, order approvals and warranty outcomes are made by staff who review the circumstances of each case.
Stock reservation is managed through a simple manual register rather than an algorithmic system. The register records quantities, delivery windows and counter references, and it is read and updated by the desk staff who own the order.
Website logs are reviewed in aggregate for security purposes. They are not used to score visitors, to infer interests or to target advertising, and there is no profiling of any kind associated with the site.
20. Complaints and Concerns
If you are unhappy with how we have handled personal information, please tell us first. Write to sales@genewtech.mom with the subject line Privacy Concern and describe what happened, including any counter reference that helps us locate the record.
We will acknowledge the concern within five working days and give a substantive reply within thirty days. If the investigation takes longer, we will tell you the reason and the new expected date.
If our reply does not resolve the matter, you may complain to the privacy authority in Hong Kong. You may also complain to a supervisory authority in your own jurisdiction if the law there gives you that right. We will cooperate with any such investigation.
We record complaints internally and review them twice each year alongside this policy so that recurring problems lead to changes in practice rather than simply to a written apology.
21. Changes to This Policy
We review this policy twice a year and whenever a significant change is made to the website, the counter process or the services we offer. The latest version is always published on this page, and the date at the top of the page records when it was last updated.
If a change materially affects how we use information that we already hold, we will notify active customer accounts by email before the change takes effect where that is practical. Continuing to use the website or to place orders after the change takes effect indicates acceptance of the revised policy.
Earlier versions of this policy are kept in the company records for six years so that we can explain our practice at any point in the life of an order.
22. How to Contact Us
Questions about this policy, requests to exercise a right and complaints can all be sent to the same place. The sales desk is the entry point for every privacy matter at this company.
Star Shinning International Limited
Rm B 2/F Silvercorp Intl Tower, 707-713 Nathan Rd, Mong Kok, Hong Kong - 999077, Hong Kong (HK)
Email: sales@genewtech.mom
Telephone: +14019229680
The counter is open Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 18:00 and on Saturday morning between 09:00 and 13:00, Hong Kong time. Enquiries received outside those hours are logged and answered on the next working day.
If your question is about an order rather than about privacy, the same contacts apply, and quoting the counter reference will speed up the reply. If your question is about the terms that govern a purchase, please read the Terms of Service linked below.