Terms of Use

Your use and/or access of the website that referenced and/or directed you to this webpage (including, without limitation, all use and access of the following websites (including all pages associated with each website): www.itwfoodequipment.com/, www.baxtermfg.com/, www.berkelequipment.com/, www.centerlinefoodequipment.com/, www.hobartcorp.com, www.hobartservice.com/, www.traulsen.com/, www.vulcanequipment.com/, and www.wolfequipment.com/ (collectively, the “ITWFEG website” or “website”)) is subject to the following terms and conditions of use (these “Terms of Use”). All users of any of the ITWFEG websites agree and assent to these Terms of Use by using any such ITWFEG website. The ITWFEG websites, including but not limited to the FEG Resource Center provide general information about ITW Food Equipment Group LLC (including its subsidiaries, divisions, business units and brands, collectively “ITWFEG”) and its products and services free of charge to users in the United States.

Please read these Terms of Use carefully before accessing or using any part of this website.

By accessing or using the website, you agree that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use, as amended from time to time.  If you do not wish to agree to these Terms of Use, do not access or use any part of the ITWFEG website.

ITWFEG may modify or supplement these Terms of Use at any time, and all such changes are effective immediately upon  notice, which we may give by any means, including but not limited to, by posting a revised version of these Terms of Use to the website.  You should view the Terms of Use often to stay informed of changes that may affect you.  Your continued use of the ITWFEG website means that you accept and agree to these Terms of Use. If you disagree with the Terms of Use (as amended from time to time) or are dissatisfied with this website, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using this website.

LICENSE AND ACCESS AND USE OF THE ITWFEG WEBSITE

You may access and use the website only in connection with your use of ITWFEG’s products and services.  Any other access to or use of the website constitutes a violation of these Terms of Use and may violate applicable copyright, trademark, or other laws. We make no representation that the website is appropriate or available for use in your location.  A reference on the website to a service does not imply that such service is or will be available in your location. The content of the website, including advertising content, is intended for use and display only where its use and display are permissible in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

You agree to use the ITWFEG website only for lawful purposes:

(a) Specifically you agree not to do any of the following: (1) communicate to ITWFEG or upload to or transmit on the ITWFEG website any defamatory, indecent, obscene, harassing, violent or otherwise objectionable material, or any material that is, or may be, protected by copyright, without permission from the copyright owner; (2) use the ITWFEG website to violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or to violate the laws of any jurisdiction; (3) intercept or attempt to intercept electronic mail not intended for you; (4) misrepresent an affiliation with any person or organization; (5) upload to or transmit on the ITWFEG website any advertisements or solicitations of business; (6) restrict or inhibit use of the ITWFEG website by others; (7) upload or otherwise transmit files that contain a virus or corrupted data; (8) collect information about others (including e-mail addresses) without their consent; (9) download a file or software or include in a message any software, files or links that you know, or have reason to believe, cannot be distributed legally over the ITWFEG website or that you have a contractual obligation to keep confidential (notwithstanding its availability on the ITWFEG website); (10) post “spam,” transmit chain letters or engage in other similar activities; or (11) engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the ITWFEG website, or which, as determined by ITWFEG, may harm ITWFEG or users of the ITWFEG website or expose them to liability.

(b) Any content and/or opinions uploaded, expressed or submitted to a message board, chatroom, online magazine or any other publicly available section of the ITWFEG website (including password-protected areas), and all articles and responses to questions, other than the content provided by ITWFEG, are solely the opinions and responsibility of the person or entity submitting them and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ITWFEG. You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for whatever content you submit, and you, not ITWFEG, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability and appropriateness. By uploading or otherwise transmitting material to ITWFEG or to any area of the ITWFEG website, you warrant that the material is your own or is in the public domain or otherwise free of proprietary or other restrictions and that you have the right to communicate it to ITWFEG and/or post it to the ITWFEG website. You grant to ITWFEG the right to use all content you upload or otherwise transmit to ITWFEG or the ITWFEG website in any manner ITWFEG chooses, including, but not limited to, copying, displaying, performing or publishing it in any format whatsoever, modifying it, incorporating it into other material or making a derivative work based on it.

(c) ITWFEG reserves the right, but does not assume any responsibility, to (1) remove any material posted on the ITWFEG website which ITWFEG, in its sole discretion, deems inconsistent with the foregoing commitments, including any material ITWFEG has been notified, or has reason to believe, constitutes a copyright infringement; and (2) terminate any user’s access to all or part of the ITWFEG website. However, ITWFEG can neither review all material before it is posted on the ITWFEG website nor ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, ITWFEG assumes no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by third parties. ITWFEG reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of users of this website and the public; however, ITWFEG has no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this paragraph.

(d) ITWFEG reserves the right to modify, reject or eliminate any information residing on or transmitted to the ITWFEG website.

Your failure to comply with the provisions of (a) or (b) above may result in the termination of your access to the ITWFEG website and may expose you to civil and/or criminal liability.

AGE REQUIREMENTS

No one under the age of 18 may use the website. By using or attempting to use the website, you represent that you meet the age requirements and that you are able to enter into legally binding contracts, including these Terms of Use.

ACCOUNTS

In order to use some aspects of the website, including the FEG Resource Center, you must register and maintain an active account (“Account”).  To set up an Account with us, you will be asked to provide certain personal information, such as your first and last name, e-mail address, and password.  You also must acknowledge and agree to these Terms of Use to create an Account.  You must provide accurate information when setting up an Account and keep all Account information current. Your failure to maintain accurate, complete, and up-to-date Account information may result in your inability to access and use the website or ITWFEG’s termination of your Account. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your Account, and you agree to maintain the security and secrecy of your Account username and password at all times. Unless otherwise permitted by ITWFEG in writing, you may only possess one Account.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and Account.  You agree to: (a) keep your password confidential and not share it with anyone else, and (b) immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or Account.

You acknowledge and agree that we are authorized to act on instructions received through use of your password and Account, and that we may, but are not obligated to, deny access or block any transaction made through use of your password or Account without prior notice if we believe your password and Account are being used by someone other than you, or for any other reason.

When you register an Account with us, you will be prompted to give your consent to our processing of your personal data. By indicating your consent, you expressly authorize ITWFEG to collect and process your personal data consistent with the purposes described in our Privacy Policy.

TERMINATION OF ACCESS

We may, in our sole and absolute discretion and without notice or liability to you or any third party, immediately suspend, limit your access to and/or terminate your access to the website and/or your Account for any reason or for no reason, including without limitation: (a) if we believe in our sole discretion that you have violated these Terms of Use or any applicable laws or regulations; (b) at the request of law enforcement, government agencies or courts; (c) if you ask us to close your Account; (d) if we discontinue or materially modify the website (or any part thereof); (e) if unexpected technical or security issues or problems arise; (f) if we believe in our sole discretion that your use or access to the website or your Account may create risk (including but not limited to legal risk) for us, our affiliates, contractual partners, or users; and/or (g) following extended periods of inactivity on your account (six (6) months or longer). Termination of your access to the website and/or your Account may include in our sole discretion, but is not limited to: (x) removal of access to some or all offerings on the website; (y) the deletion of some or all of your Account information and/or other content associated with your use of the website and/or your Account (or any part thereof) from the Site, our servers and/or directories; and/or (z) banning you from using the website by any available means, including without limitation by blocking your IP address.

COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS / USE OF CONTENT

The entire contents of the website (including all information, software, text, displays, images and audio) and the design, selection and arrangement thereof, are proprietary to ITWFEG or its licensors and are protected by United States and international laws regarding copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. You are authorized only to use the content on the ITWFEG website for personal use or legitimate business purposes related to your role as a current or prospective customer, supplier, or dealer of ITWFEG. You may not copy, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display or perform, republish, store, transmit or distribute any of the material on this site without the prior written consent of ITWFEG, except to: (a) store copies of such materials temporarily in RAM, (b) store files that are automatically cached by your web browser for display enhancement purposes, and (c) print a reasonable number of pages of the ITWFEG website; provided in each case that you do not alter or remove any copyright or other proprietary notices included in such materials. Neither the title nor any intellectual property rights to any information or material in this website are transferred to you but remain with ITWFEG or the applicable owner of such content. Except as expressly authorized by ITWFEG in writing, you may not reproduce, sell or exploit for any commercial purposes (a) any part of the website, (b) access to the website or (c) use of the website or of any services or materials available through the website.

TRADEMARKS

The names, logo, product and service names, design marks and slogans of ITWFEG are the trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of ITWFEG. All other products or service marks contained herein are used for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The ITWFEG name and logo may not be used in any commercial manner without the prior written consent of ITWFEG.

DEALINGS WITH DEALERS AND OTHER MERCHANTS

If you choose to correspond, participate in a promotion or engage in transactions with any dealer or other merchant found on or through the website, including, without limitation, any dealer participating in ITWFEG’s Preferred Online Dealer program, you acknowledge and agree that ITWFEG is not a party to, and will not be responsible for, your interaction with such merchant, including its treatment of your information and the terms and conditions applicable to any transaction between you and the merchant. The terms of your interaction with any merchant are solely between you and such merchant. You agree that ITWFEG will have no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage of any kind that you may suffer as the result of any such interaction or the presence of such merchants on the website.

LIABILITY OF ITW FEG AND ITS LICENSORS

You assume all responsibility and risk for the use of the website. ITWFEG does not assume any liability for the materials, information and opinions provided on, or available through, the ITWFEG website (the “site content”). Any of the site content may include technical, accuracy and typographical errors. ITWFEG has the right to make changes and updates to the site content without prior notice. Neither the site content nor any advice or information given by ITWFEG or its employees shall create any warranty. Reliance on such advice, information or the site content is solely at your own risk. ITWFEG disclaims any liability for injury or damages resulting from the use of thereof.

THE ITWFEG WEBSITE, THE SITE CONTENT AND THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PROVIDED ON OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS. NEITHER ITWFEG NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH ITWFEG MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, USEFULNESS OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SITE CONTENT OR THE ITWFEG WEBSITE. SPECIFICALLY, BUT WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER ITWFEG NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH ITWFEG WARRANTS OR REPRESENTS THAT THE ITWFEG WEBSITE, THE SITE CONTENT OR THE SERVICES PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THIS WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED; THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; THAT THE ITWFEG WEBSITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; OR THAT THE ITWFEG WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS. ITWFEG DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT.

ITWFEG shall not be liable for any damages of any kind whatsoever arising out of your reliance on the information on the website. ITWFEG assumes no responsibility and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from viruses that may affect your computer equipment, software, data or other property on account of your access to, use of, or browsing in the website or any other linked websites on or in the Internet generally or your downloading of any materials, data, text, images, video or audio from the website or any linked website or the Internet generally.

IN NO EVENT WILL ITWFEG OR ITS LICENSORS OR CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE ITWFEG WEBSITE, THE SITE CONTENT, ANY SERVICES PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR ANY LINKED SITE, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, LOST PROFITS OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DELAY, INTERRUPTION IN SERVICE, LOST DATA, LOSS OF USE, VIRUSES, DELETION OF FILES OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, OR ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE ITWFEG WEBSITE OR THE SITE CONTENT, WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS NEGLIGENCE BY ITWFEG AND WHETHER OR NOT ITWFEG HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH DAMAGES.

INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ITWFEG and its officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, third-party information providers, licensors and others involved in the ITWFEG website or the delivery of products, services or information over the ITWFEG website, from and against any and all liabilities, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising from any violation by you of the Terms of Use or your use or misuse of the ITWFEG website or any products, services or information obtained from the website.

ARBITRATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT

PLEASE READ THIS FOLLOWING CLAUSE CAREFULLY – IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT.

We are available by email at websupport@itwfeg.com to address any concerns you may have regarding your use of the ITWFEG website.  Most concerns may be quickly resolved in this manner.  We and you (each a “party” and together, the “parties”) shall use best efforts to settle any dispute, claim, question or disagreement directly through consultation and good faith negotiations which shall be a precondition to either party initiating a lawsuit or arbitration.

If the parties do not reach an agreed upon solution within a period of thirty (30) days from the time informal dispute resolution is pursued pursuant to the above, then either party may initiate binding arbitration.  All claims arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use (including their formation, construction, validity, interpretation, performance and enforceability), the parties’ relationship with each other and/or your use of the ITWFEB website shall be finally settled by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association on a confidential basis in accordance with the provisions of its Commercial Arbitration Rules and the supplementary procedures for consumer related disputes of the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”), excluding any rules or procedures governing or permitting class actions.  The arbitrator, and not any federal, state or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of these Terms of Use, including but not limited to any claim that all or any part of these Terms of Use is void or voidable.  The arbitrator shall be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity.  The arbitrator’s award shall be binding on the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.  The interpretation and enforcement of this agreement shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.

THE AAA’S RULES GOVERNING THE ARBITRATION MAY BE ACCESSED AT WWW.ADR.ORG OR BY CALLING THE AAA AT 1.800.778.7879.  TO THE EXTENT THE FILING FEE FOR THE ARBITRATION EXCEEDS THE COST OF FILING A LAWSUIT, WE WILL PAY THE ADDITIONAL COST.  A REQUEST FOR PAYMENT OF FEES SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO AAA ALONG WITH YOUR FORM FOR INITIATING THE ARBITRATION, AND WE WILL MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO PAY ALL NECESSARY FEES DIRECTLY TO THE AAA.  IF THE ARBITRATOR FINDS THE ARBITRATION TO BE NON-FRIVOLOUS, WE WILL PAY ALL OF THE ACTUAL FILING AND ARBITRATOR FEES FOR THE ARBITRATION, PROVIDED YOUR CLAIM DOES NOT EXCEED $75,000.  THE ARBITRATION RULES ALSO PERMIT YOU TO RECOVER ATTORNEYS’ FEES IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

THE PARTIES UNDERSTAND THAT, ABSENT THIS MANDATORY PROVISION, THEY WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL.  THEY FURTHER UNDERSTAND THAT, IN SOME INSTANCES, THE COSTS OF ARBITRATION COULD EXCEED THE COSTS OF LITIGATION AND THE RIGHT TO DISCOVERY MAY BE MORE LIMITED IN ARBITRATION THAT IN COURT.

CLASS ACTION AND CLASS ARBITRATION WAIVER.  THE PARTIES FURTHER AGREE THAT ANY ARBITRATION SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES ONLY AND NOT AS A CLASS ACTION OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION, AND THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY WAIVE THEIR RIGHT TO FILE A CLASS ACTION OR SEEK RELIEF ON A CLASS BASIS.  IF ANY COURT OR ARBITRATOR DETERMINES THAT THE CLASS ACTION WAIVER SET FORTH IN THIS PARAGRAPH IS VOID OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON OR THAT AN ARBITRATION CAN PROCEED ON A CLASS BASIS, THEN THE ARBITRATION PROVISION SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED NULL AND VOID IN ITS ENTIRETY AND THE PARTIES SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE NOT AGREED TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES.

GOVERNING LAW

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Terms of Use shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Illinois, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Illinois.

PRIVACY; PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

ITW FEG’s use of your personal information and your responsibilities in connection with protecting your privacy are described in the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference into these Terms of Use.

COMMENTS AND SUBMISSIONS

Anything that you submit to ITWFEG or post on publicly available portions of the ITWFEG website is non-confidential for all purposes and will not be held in confidence. ITWFEG does not want to receive confidential or proprietary information from any user through its websites. Should you provide ITWFEG or its advertisers or business partners with information, including but not limited to, feedback, data, answers, questions, comments, suggestions, plans, ideas or the like, whether or not such information is provided in response to solicitations on the website, such information shall be deemed to be nonproprietary and non-confidential and shall become the property of ITWFEG and you agree that all intellectual property rights therein are transferred to ITWFEG. ITWFEG assumes no obligation to protect such information from disclosure. The submission of such information to ITWFEG shall in no way prevent the purchase, manufacture or use of similar products, services, plans and ideas by ITWFEG for any purpose whatsoever and ITWFEG shall be free to reproduce, use, display, broadcast, disclose, transmit and distribute the information to others without restriction. ITWFEG cannot prevent the “harvesting” of information from the website, and a user may be contacted by ITWFEG or unrelated third parties by e-mail or otherwise, within or outside of this website. In addition, while there is no limitation on how a user’s information may be used, we may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and administer the website, or to help identify you and your shopping cart and to gather broad demographic information.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES; REFERENCES TO THIRD PARTIES

The ITWFEG website contains links to other web sites on the Internet. ITWFEG is not responsible for and does not endorse the content, products, services or privacy practices of any third-party websites, including, without limitation, sites framed within the ITWFEG website or third-party advertisements, and does not make any representations regarding their quality, content or accuracy. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites. Further, a reference on the ITWFEG website to any products, services, processes, hypertext links to third-parties or other information by trademark, trade name, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply ITWFEG's endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation. Product and service information are solely the responsibility of each individual vendor and ITWFEG does not make any representations regarding the quality, content or accuracy of such information or provide any warranties as to such vendors’ products, trademarks, trade names or trade dress.