Day 067 - 15 Dec 94 - Page 06
1 purposes of today. It should not happen; it has happened.
2 Address me, if you wish, at any later stage on it but let
3 us press on now with what can be asked.
4
5 MR. RAMPTON: I agree. Can I ask this too, when we have looked
6 at them, when I have talked to Dr. Gomez Gonzalez about
7 them, which probably there will not be a proper opportunity
8 to do that do until after the end of today's hearing, it
9 may be that I should wish, it may be not, to ask him some
10 questions in-chief about them before he is cross-examined
11 upon them because, of course, we should have had them -----
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think everyone should take stock overnight
14 and we can pick it up in the morning. Hopefully, there
15 will not be any real issue about it, but let us wait and
16 see. Anyway, if you can conduct your cross-examination,
17 your joint cross-examination, in areas which do not require
18 reference to those documents today, so much the better.
19
20 MS. STEEL (To the witness): You have said in your statements
21 that you have a BSc in Animal Engineering. Could you just
22 say what animal engineering is?
23 A. OK. It is the whole process of -- my degree is from
24 Mexico and there is a big difference between a technical
25 degree and engineering degree. Technical degree implies
26 that you know what happens, you know what the final effect
27 is. An engineering degree implies that you know what
28 happens in between.
29
30 Q. The process?
31 A. The process.
32
33 Q. The way it works?
34 A. Right. So, an engineering degree is a more advanced
35 degree.
36
37 Q. Right, OK. How do suppliers become approved by McDonald's?
38 A. Approved?
39
40 Q. Approved?
41 A. Approved? There is a long process that starts within
42 the particular country. Our incountry purchasing managers,
43 when there is a need to develop a supplier, they go and
44 find out about what are the possible suppliers. They can
45 go to the industry associations, they can go to the
46 commerce department. We are very involved, obviously, in
47 the food industry, so we go to our suppliers. Many times
48 we go to our international suppliers that supply equipment
49 for our suppliers, and ask them about the possible
50 suppliers in any country.
51
52 Once we select a potential supplier or several potential
53 suppliers, we look at their reputation historically. We
54 look at their financial soundness. We get as much
55 information as we can. We narrow it down to possibly most
56 of the time its two to three possible suppliers. We then,
57 our local people, country purchasing managers as well as QA
58 managers, will visit the plant and get an idea about their
59 people, their processors and their potential of becoming a
60 supplier for us.
