Data protection is important to us

Privacy Policy (This text version is intended solely to help you understand our Privacy Policy. The legally binding version is based on the German text)

1. general information

Data protection is an important concern for us. We therefore process your personal data with great care and in accordance with the applicable legal requirements. The Flachglas Schweiz plants in Wikon and Thun process your personal data for various purposes and provide transparent information about this data processing. The term “personal data” refers to all information that can be linked to a specific or identifiable natural person. The term “processing” includes any handling of personal data, e.g. obtaining, disclosing, storing, deleting, etc. Please read the entire privacy policy carefully. This will tell you how and why we process your personal data and what rights you have in connection with this data processing. To whom and when does this privacy policy apply?

  • if you purchase services or products from us or have a contractual relationship with us
  • Visitors to our website www.flachglas.ch
  • when you contact us, e.g. via e-mail, letter or another contact tool
  • when you receive information or marketing communications from us
  • if you subscribe to our newsletter
  • when you apply to us
  • if you have dealings with us in the context of further data processing in connection with our offers

2. responsibility

The company responsible for the processing of personal data is the one that determines for what purpose and by what means the processing takes place. The following companies or persons are the “controller” within the meaning of the FADP for data processing in accordance with this privacy policy, i.e. Body responsible under data protection lawunless otherwise communicated in the specific individual case (identity):

  • Flachglas (Schweiz) AG, Zentrumstrasse 2, 4806 Wikon, Switzerland
  • Flachglas Wikon AG, Industriestrasse 10, 4806 Wikon, Switzerland
  • Flachglas (Schweiz) AG, Moosweg 21, 3645 Gwatt/Thun, Switzerland


If you have any concerns or questions about data protection, you can contact us at the following address: personal@flachglas.ch

3. personal data to be processed

We also process different categories of personal data in view of the different purposes. For contractual partners that are companies, we process less personal data – here we process in particular data of contact persons of the companies (e.g. name, e-mail address, function in the company, communication data).

You provide us with much of the following personal data yourself. As a rule, however, you are not obliged to do so. If you provide us with data about other persons, we assume that you are authorized to do so and that this data is also correct. You automatically confirm this when you provide us with data about these third parties. Please ensure that the third parties concerned have been made aware of this privacy policy.

3.1. Basic data and contact information

Basic data and contact information relate directly to your person and characteristics (e.g. to contact you). For example, we process the following basic data:

  • Surname, first name
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Address/address
  • E-mail address
  • Phone number
  • Nationality and residence permit status
  • Information on language preferences
  • Information from ID or passport
  • Family data (e.g. marital status)
  • Information on professional function and employment (e.g. employment relationship, employer)
  • Information on training
  • Information on income and assets
  • Information on the housing situation
  • Authorizations to sign and declarations of consent

We receive this master data directly from you. Under certain conditions, however, we may also obtain personal data from third parties, e.g. from our contractual partners, associations and address dealers and from publicly accessible sources such as the Internet.

3.2. Contract data

Contract data is information that arises in connection with the execution of the contract. We process the following data:

  • Information from the run-up to the conclusion of a contract and information on the conclusion of the contract itself (e.g. on the subject matter of the contract), as well as the information required or used for processing
  • Date, information on the type, duration and conditions of the contract in question, data on the termination of the contract
  • Customer history
  • Information on payments and payment modalities, mutual claims
  • Information on complaints, information on customer satisfaction, complaints, feedback
  • Answers to customer and satisfaction surveys
  • Access data and logins

3.3. Application data

Application data is data that is collected in connection with your application to us, e.g. the following data:

  • CV, letter of motivation
  • Employment and degree certificates
  • Information about your current job (e.g. notice period)
  • Wage expectations
  • Information in connection with a job interview

3.4. Communication data

Communication data is data that arises in connection with communication with you, e.g. the following data:

  • Contact details such as postal address, e-mail address and telephone number
  • Content of all correspondence
  • Information on the type, time and other marginal data of the communication

3.5. Behavioral data

In order to tailor our offers and services to you, we try to get to know you better. For this purpose, we process data about your behavior. Behavioral data is information about your use of our website. It can also be collected on the basis of technical data.

We may also use your other interactions with us as behavioral data, and we may combine behavioral data with other information. This data then tells us what your needs and interests are likely to be. We analyze behavioral data for this purpose. This gives us overall knowledge of your preferences and the likely behavior of you or groups of people with similar characteristics.

3.6. Location data and technical data

When you visit our website, technical data is collected. This includes the following data, for example:

  • Location and traffic data
  • IP address of the end device and device ID
  • Information about your device, the operating system of your end device
  • Information about your Internet provider
  • Content accessed or logs in which the use of our systems is recorded
  • Date and time of access to the website

3.7. Other possible data

If necessary, we can then also process the following additional data:

  • Data may be collected in connection with official or legal proceedings (e.g. evidence) which may also relate to you.
  • We may also be forced to collect data for health protection reasons (e.g. as part of protection concepts).
  • We may also edit photos or videos in which you may be recognizable (e.g. from events).
  • We may collect data about who attends events and when
  • We may collect data about whether you participate in promotions (e.g. competitions).

4. purposes of our data processing

Where permitted, we process your personal data for various purposes in which we have a legitimate interest corresponding to the purpose:

  • For contract fulfillment
  • To improve our services and products
  • For communication (e.g. replying to your messages)
  • For marketing and information purposes (e.g. so that we can inform you about offers or new activities according to your personal interests)
  • Examination of your application (so that we can assess whether you are suitable for a position with us)
  • To maintain our IT security (in particular to monitor the performance of our website)
  • To enforce measures for operational and building security and to protect our employees, other persons and valuables
  • For internal administration (e.g. in the context of accounting or archiving data)
  • To comply with legal requirements (e.g. to process complaints, prevent and investigate criminal offenses or other misconduct)
  • Assertion of legal claims (if necessary, we also process personal data in order to assert claims in and out of court and before authorities in Switzerland and abroad or to defend ourselves against legal claims)
  • For company development (e.g. for company management, for the processing of the purchase and sale of business divisions and the associated transfer of personal data)

5. data processing in connection with social media

If you contact us via social media and our profiles there, e.g. on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., comment on content or share posts, we collect information that we can use for marketing purposes, for example. The respective provider of a social media platform also collects data itself when you visit our profile. Further information on data processing by a social media provider itself can be found in the respective data protection declarations of this provider.

On our website, we offer you the option of using a so-called social media plugin from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter to integrate functions of the respective provider on our website. These plugins are deactivated by default, but are activated when you click on the social media icon on the website. You can send requests for information and other requests from data subjects in connection with these social media providers directly to the provider in question.

6. online advertising techniques

We use online advertising technologies such as cookies on our website. This enables us to measure the user-friendliness and success of the website and online advertising campaigns.

6.1. What are online advertising technologies such as cookies?

If we track you, we can distinguish your access from access by other users so that we can ensure the functionality of the website and carry out statistical evaluations. Each time you access a page, you are recognized as an individual visitor and can therefore be distinguished from other people, for example by the server assigning a unique identification number to your browser (this is known as a “cookie”). Cookies are automatically stored on your end device when you visit our website. We use cookies, for example, to save settings between your visits to the website or to collect statistical, technical data.

6.2. Which cookies or online advertising technologies do we use?

We use analysis services so that we can optimize our website. In the following, we explain how our most important analytics service providers work by way of example. Other third-party providers of corresponding tools generally process personal data in a similar way.

7. google fonts (local hosting)

This site uses so-called Google Fonts, which are provided by Google, for the uniform display of fonts. Google Fonts are installed locally. There is no connection to Google servers.

Further information about Google Fonts can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

8. wordfence

We have integrated Wordfence on this website. The provider is Defiant Inc, Defiant, Inc, 800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA (hereinafter “Wordfence”).

Wordfence serves to protect our website from unwanted access or malicious cyberattacks. For this purpose, our website establishes a permanent connection to Wordfence’s servers so that Wordfence can compare its databases with the accesses made on our website and block them if necessary.

Wordfence is used on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in protecting its website as effectively as possible against cyberattacks. If a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR and § 25 para. 1 TDDDG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user’s end device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

Data transfer to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. You can find details here: https://www.wordfence.com/help/general-data-protection-regulation/

9th WhatsApp

For communication with our customers and other third parties, we use the instant messaging service WhatsApp, among others. The provider is WhatsApp Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Communication takes place via end-to-end encryption (peer-to-peer), which prevents WhatsApp or other third parties from gaining access to the communication content. However, WhatsApp receives access to metadata that is created in the course of the communication process (e.g. sender, recipient and time). We would also like to point out that WhatsApp states that it shares the personal data of its users with its parent company Meta, which is based in the USA. Further details on data processing can be found in WhatsApp’s privacy policy at: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/#privacy-policy.

WhatsApp is used on the basis of our legitimate interest in communicating as quickly and effectively as possible with customers, interested parties and other business and contractual partners (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). If a corresponding consent has been requested, the data processing takes place exclusively on the basis of the consent; this can be revoked at any time with effect for the future.

The communication content exchanged between you and us on WhatsApp will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage or the purpose for data storage no longer applies (e.g. after your request has been processed). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

The company is certified in accordance with the “EU-US Data Privacy Framework” (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the USA that is intended to ensure compliance with European data protection standards for data processing in the USA. Every company certified under the DPF undertakes to comply with these data protection standards. Further information on this can be obtained from the provider at the following link: https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/s/participant-search/participant-detail?contact=true&id=a2zt00000011sfnAAA&status=Active.

We have set our WhatsApp accounts so that it does not automatically synchronize data with the address book on the smartphones in use

10. profiling

We may process and evaluate your personal data automatically. This includes profiling, i.e. the automated evaluation of data for analysis and forecasting purposes, as well as to identify misuse and security risks. Examples include profiling for fraud prevention, credit checks, customer care and marketing purposes.

11. disclosure of data to other companies and other recipients

We only disclose your personal data to service providers in Switzerland. This applies in particular to IT service providers, but may – where necessary – include analysis service providers, debt collection service providers, credit agencies, marketing service providers, etc. If these service providers process personal data as processors, they are obliged to process personal data exclusively in accordance with our instructions and to take data security measures. Data may then also be disclosed to other recipients, e.g. to courts and authorities in the context of legal proceedings. In individual cases, we may also pass on personal data to other third parties for their own purposes, e.g. if you have given us your consent to do so or if we are legally obliged or entitled to do so.

12. duration of data processing

We store and process your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purpose of processing (for data in connection with contracts, this is usually for the duration of the contractual relationship), as long as we have a legitimate interest in storing the data (e.g. to enforce legal claims or to ensure IT security) and as long as data is subject to a statutory retention obligation (for certain data, for example, a ten-year retention period applies, which we must comply with). We destroy or anonymize your personal data after the storage or processing period has expired, provided that no legal or contractual obligations prohibit this.

13. rights of data subjects

You have certain rights under applicable data protection law to obtain further information about our data processing and to influence it. These are in particular the following rights:

  • You have a right to information. This means that you can request information about our data processing. We will be happy to provide you with this information. You can also submit a request for information if you would like further information and a copy of your data.
  • You have a right to data portability. This means that you have the right to receive the personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to have it transferred to a third party, provided that the corresponding data processing is based on your consent or is necessary for the performance of the contract.
  • You have the right to erasure and objection. This means that you can object to our data processing so that we can no longer process your data. You can then request that we delete your personal data. However, we would like to point out that we will continue to process and store your data if we are obliged to do so.
  • You have a right to rectification. This means that you can have incorrect or incomplete personal data corrected or completed or then have it marked with a so-called confirmation note.
  • You have the right to withdraw your consent. This means that you can withdraw your consent at any time, provided that you have previously given your consent for data processing. The revocation applies from this moment, i.e. only for the future and not for the past. However, we may continue to process your data on another basis if you withdraw your consent.
  • You have a right as a data subject, which means that you have the right to receive the personal data that you have provided to the controller. This data must be provided in a commonly used electronic format. However, this does not mean that the controller is no longer permitted to process this data.

If you assert your rights as a data subject, we must verify your identity (e.g. by sending you a copy of your ID). The listed data subject rights are then subject to legal requirements and restrictions. This means that it is not always possible to exercise your rights in full. For example, we must continue to process your personal data in order to fulfill a contract with you, to protect our own legitimate interests or to comply with legal obligations. To the extent permitted by law (e.g. to protect the privacy of third parties and to protect our own legitimate interests, such as the existence of business secrets), we may restrict or refuse to exercise your rights. It should also be noted that you also have the option of contacting the relevant data protection authority with your concerns.

14 Supplementary information on video surveillance

14.1. Name and contact details of the responsible body and contact details of the responsible body:

Flachglas Wikon AG
Industriestrasse 10
4806 Wikon

Flachglas Thun AG
Moosweg 21
3645 Gwatt/Thun

Flachglas (Schweiz) AG
Zentrumstrasse 2
4806 Wikon

Contact details:
Flachglas (Schweiz) AG
Human Resources Department
Zentrumstrasse 2
4806 Wikon

14.2. the purposes for which the personal data are to be processed and the legal basis for the processing

Video surveillance only takes place on the outdoor area and serves the purpose of exercising domiciliary rights, asserting claims and preventing and prosecuting criminal offenses. The interest in data processing arises from the domiciliary right and the interest in asserting claims and preventing and prosecuting criminal offenses (preservation of evidence). This outweighs the interest of the data subjects in not having the data processed.

14.3. Categories of personal data that are processed

Recordings of activities in the outdoor areas up to the individual entrances. This may affect: Employees, customers, interested parties, service providers, visitors, unauthorized third parties.

14.4. Recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data; transfer to third countries

Management, lawyers, law enforcement authorities, insurance companies, if applicable. No data is transferred outside Switzerland.

14.5. the period for which the personal data will be stored or, if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period

The data is stored for 30 days.

14.6. Rights of data subjects

If personal data is processed by video surveillance, as is the case here, the data subjects have rights vis-à-vis the controller. You can request confirmation from the controller as to whether and which personal data concerning you is being processed (including, among other things, the purposes for which the personal data is being processed; categories of personal data; recipients; storage period). In addition, under certain conditions you can request the correction or deletion of your data. You may also have the right to restrict the processing of your data and the right to receive the data you have provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority and the right to object to data processing.

14.7. Information for data subjects about the right to object

Data subjects have the right to object, on grounds relating to their particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning them.

If the data subject objects, we will no longer process their personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

The objection can be made informally using the above contact details.

15. status of the privacy policy

This privacy policy is up to date and dated 01.07.2024.