How we handle your data and documents.
What this site collects, what happens to the documents you send, who sees them and which rights you have.
The short version
When and why do we use data?
We process only the data we need to run our website, to handle inquiries and to work with customers and prospects. This includes, for example, contact details and the information you send us with an inquiry. We measure how the site is used only if you have agreed to it in the banner.
Do we use your data for advertising?
We do not use your data for advertising without asking you. When we contact you, it is in connection with an existing business relationship or a specific inquiry. You can object to processing for direct advertising at any time.
What do we use external services for?
We use external service providers to run our website and develop it technically. Which services are used, and which data they may process, is explained further down this page. The providers receive only the data they need for their task. They use it solely on our behalf.
Which rights do you have?
You can ask which personal data we process about you. Depending on the situation you have further rights, for example to correction or deletion. An e-mail to info@fme.ag is enough. You will find more in the section “Your rights”.
Who is responsible
FME Feinmechanik AG, Wieswandstrasse 2, 8454 Buchberg, Switzerland. info@fme.ag, +41 44 868 14 14. The controller decides on the purposes and means of processing your data. We are glad to answer questions about data protection at info@fme.ag or by post to this address.
Which law applies
The Swiss Data Protection Act (DSG). Where an inquiry comes from the European Union, the GDPR may apply as well. Section 10 explains both.
Technical inquiries and project documents
Which documents do we receive?
For technical inquiries we often receive drawings, CAD data, bills of materials, specifications or other project documents. They can also include contact details and information about the planned part or project. Examples are 3D models, requirement specifications, inspection requirements and technical documentation, along with quantities, materials, tolerances and dates. The documents reach us through the inquiry form, by e-mail, or in the course of a running project.
What do we use this information for?
We use this information to check your inquiry technically, to assess feasibility, to prepare a quotation and to prepare or carry out a possible order.
What not?
We use technical documents and project information only for the purpose for which they were sent to us. They are not used in any other way unless this has been expressly agreed or is required by law. So we do not use them for advertising, to develop products of our own, for analyses about your company, or as a reference without your release. Documents go only to the people and partners actually working on the project. Section 3 says how that is governed.
How long does the data stay with us?
We keep the documents as long as they are needed for the inquiry, for the business relationship or because of statutory requirements. As long as the data is relevant, we keep it for 15 years.
Confidentiality
We treat your documents as confidential
With technical inquiries we often receive drawings, CAD data, bills of materials or other project documents. We use this information to check and handle your inquiry. We also treat design data, product information and manufacturing information as confidential. Equally, the fact that a project is running with us, and everything we learn about your product along the way.
Who has access?
Only people who need project documents to work on the inquiry or the order get access to them. These are calculation, work preparation, manufacturing, quality assurance and the people looking after the project. There is no access for general information. Our employees are bound to secrecy, including after their employment ends.
Protecting project documents
We take appropriate organisational and technical measures to protect project documents and other confidential information.
Non-disclosure agreement
We can sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before the first file. To do so, write to info@fme.ag before you attach a drawing.
Partners in the process chain
If an inquiry or an order needs external partners, relevant information may be passed on to them. We limit what we pass on to the information needed for the task in question. Beyond that we disclose data only where a law or a court requires it. Every partner is bound by a confidentiality obligation and has signed an NDA.
Contact forms and file uploads
Which details do we need?
When you contact us through a form, we record the details you enter there. We need this information to handle your inquiry and to get in touch with you. These are name, company, e-mail address, telephone number (optional), type of inquiry and the content of the inquiry. That includes, for example, material, quantity, tolerances, surface finish, cleanliness requirements, preferred delivery date and whatever else you want to tell us.
Which files can you upload?
With technical inquiries you can send us project documents. These can include, for example, drawings, CAD data, bills of materials, specifications or other files. One file is possible, as PDF, STEP, STP, DXF or ZIP, up to 20 MB. Several drawings go into one ZIP file. We handle uploaded files as sections 2 and 3 describe.
What do we use the data for?
We use your details and files to handle your inquiry and, if it leads to an order, to prepare and carry out that order. Your contact details serve the communication about this inquiry. We do not use them for advertising.
How do we protect the transmission?
We use technical and organisational measures to protect the transmission of your data. The connection to this site is encrypted (HTTPS). Nothing is stored on the site itself. The inquiry goes to FME as an e-mail sent through Resend. Resend is an e-mail delivery service: Plus Five Five, Inc., 2261 Market Street #5039, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA. The e-mails are sent from Resend’s servers in Ireland (EU). What you write and the file you attach pass through these systems on the way. Resend stores delivery logs, metadata and account data in the United States. This transfer is based on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and on Resend’s certification under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, as set out in Resend’s data processing agreement. Resend keeps e-mail delivery data for 30 days. It deletes customer data within 90 days after an account is closed. At FME the inquiry then sits in the mailbox and in the project filing, see section 6. You can read Resend’s data processing agreement at resend.com/legal/dpa.
Spam protection
Technical safeguards may be used to protect our forms against spam and automated requests. Our form gives your browser a small calculation to solve in the background. You do nothing yourself. The calculation runs on this site’s own server, loads nothing from third parties, sets no cookie and stores nothing about you.
Data that arises when you visit this site
Hosting
Our website is run by Tsubasa Sagl on servers of Hetzner Online GmbH (Industriestrasse 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany). The site is served from Hetzner’s data centre in Nuremberg, Germany (EU). Technically necessary data is processed so that the site can be delivered securely and reliably. The web server does not keep a log of every visit; your IP address is recorded only when an error or warning occurs, and these entries are deleted automatically after a few days. Data processing agreements are in place between FME and Tsubasa and between Tsubasa and Hetzner.
Server log files
To deliver the site, the web server processes technical information with every request, for example the IP address, the page requested and the browser. This information is stored only when an error or warning occurs, as described under “Hosting”. These entries help us detect errors and run the site securely. We do not merge this data with other data sources. The basis is our interest in the error-free and secure delivery of the site.
Cookies and consent
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies. Some of them are technically necessary. For others we ask for your consent first, where this is required. The site itself sets no cookies. Your answer in the consent banner is stored in your browser so the banner does not reappear on every visit. Google Analytics sets its own cookies once you accept. Decline, and nothing is loaded and no analytics cookie is written. You can set your browser to block or delete cookies. Individual functions of the site may then be limited.
Encrypted transmission
Our website uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Data is thereby transmitted securely over the internet and protected against unauthorised access.
IT and cloud infrastructure
For our work we use IT and cloud services from external providers. Personal data may be processed in them, for example in communication, when documents are stored, or in collaboration.
Microsoft 365
FME uses Microsoft 365 as its business and communication platform. Exchange Online is used for e-mail, SharePoint and OneDrive for documents and project filing, Microsoft Teams for meetings and internal collaboration.
What is processed in that environment
Your inquiry, the correspondence that follows and the project documents are processed and filed in that environment. Microsoft acts as a processor and not for purposes of its own. Access stays limited to the people working on the project, see section 3.
Where is data processed?
Depending on the provider, data may also be processed outside Switzerland. The website runs on servers in Germany (EU), see section 5. E-mail and files at FME are held in Microsoft 365. FME’s Microsoft 365 environment is located in Switzerland, and Microsoft’s Products and Services Data Protection Addendum applies. Resend sends e-mails from Ireland (EU) and keeps delivery logs in the United States. Google Analytics may transfer data to the United States, see section 7.
Analysis and measurement
Website analysis
We want to understand how our website is used and where we can improve it. For this we may use analysis tools. Technical information about your visit to our website may be processed in the process. This site uses Google Analytics 4, a service of Google Ireland Limited. It measures which pages are read, where visitors came from and which inquiries were started. It sets cookies and gives you an identifier that persists between visits. It transfers data to Google in the United States. This transfer has to be covered by an adequacy decision or by standard contractual clauses. Google may process data on servers outside Switzerland or the European Union. Google’s data protection and security standards apply there.
What does this mean for you?
We use analysis services only within the applicable data protection requirements. Where your consent is needed for this, we ask for it first. Google Analytics runs only if you accept it in the banner. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
What this site does not use
No Facebook pixel, no LinkedIn marketing tracking, no Google Ads conversion tracking, no remarketing and no marketing automation. Your inquiry is not measured and is not handed to advertising platforms. Should any of these services ever be used, it will be named here first.
Fonts, maps and other services
Our website may embed services from external providers, for example for fonts, maps or other functions. When such content loads, technical data may be transmitted to the provider in question.
Web fonts
The typefaces of this site (Barlow, Inter) come from our own server. No request goes to Google Fonts or any other provider. So no IP address is passed to a third party when the fonts load.
The map on the contact page
The contact page embeds a map from Google Maps, a service of Google Ireland Limited. The map loads as soon as you open the contact page. Your IP address is then transmitted to Google. No other page of this site embeds a map.
Social media and newsletter
This site embeds no social media plugins and runs no newsletter. Links to external sites are ordinary links. Nothing is transmitted until you click one.
Your rights
You have several rights regarding your personal data. Which of them apply in a given case depends on the legal requirements in question.
Information
You can ask which personal data we process about you. This includes where the data came from, who received it and the purpose of the processing. You can ask at any time, free of charge. Write to info@fme.ag.
Correction
If data is wrong or incomplete, you can ask for it to be corrected.
Deletion
Under certain conditions you can ask for personal data to be deleted.
Restriction of processing
You can ask us to process your data only in a restricted way. This applies if you contest that the data is accurate. It also applies if the processing was unlawful, or if we no longer need the data but you need it for legal claims. And it applies while an objection has not yet been decided.
A copy and portability
Some data we process with your consent or to perform a contract. On request we hand this data over to you in a common machine-readable format. On request we also hand it to a third party.
Withdrawing consent
You can withdraw a consent you have given, with effect for the future. This applies, for instance, to measurement with Google Analytics. You can do so at any time, and an informal e-mail is enough. Processing carried out until then remains lawful.
Objection
Where the GDPR applies and processing is based on Art. 6(1)(e) or (f), you may object on grounds relating to your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR). You may object to processing for direct advertising at any time.
Complaint to the supervisory authority
In Switzerland the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) is competent. If you live or work in the European Union, you can also complain to the supervisory authority where you live or work.
Contact for data protection
For questions about data protection or about the processing of personal data you can reach us at info@fme.ag.
Legal framework
The processing of personal data is governed by the data protection provisions that apply in each case.
Swiss Data Protection Act
We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the Swiss Data Protection Act (DSG). We process only the data a given purpose needs, and only as long as that purpose or a statutory duty requires.
GDPR, where it applies
Where an inquiry comes from the European Union, the GDPR may apply as well. The basis is then the initiation and performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)), our legitimate interest in running the site securely (f) and, for measurement, your consent (a).
The limits of transmission over the internet
Data transmission over the internet, for instance by e-mail, can have security gaps; complete protection against access by third parties is not possible. For particularly sensitive documents we will agree another route with you beforehand.
Changes to this statement
Updates
We amend this statement when the legal situation or the services in use change. The version published on this page applies.