Day 077 - 25 Jan 95 - Page 22

     
     1        you?
     2        A.  Yes, originally, I was Managing Director, then I became
     3        (and still am) Chief Executive Director as well as
     4        Chairman.
     5
     6   Q.   In the days when McDonald's had a share of the business,
     7        did they have personnel on the premises?
     8        A.  Not permanently.
     9
    10   Q.   How often nowadays do people from McDonald's visit your
    11        plants in Scunthorpe and Milton Keynes?
    12        A.  Frequently, at least once a week we have somebody from
    13        McDonald's.
    14
    15   Q.   What are the names of the people that you see frequently
    16        from McDonald's?
    17        A.  Barbara Crawford, the purchasing people, Ted Wootton,
    18        David Thomas, all people connected with purchasing and
    19        quality control and, of course, as a matter of
    20        communication, we have operations people in as well.  Once
         a months we have the AOC course, the Advanced Operations
    22        Course.
    23
    24   Q.   What is that?
    25        A.  We teach them -- well, in McDonald's there is a series
    26        of examinations in operations which are run by Hamburger
    27        University as the basic operations course.  Then the people
    28        going on to management go on the advanced operations
    29        course; the advanced operations course to give them breadth
    30        and an understanding of the McDonald's organisation.  They
    31        come to the bakeries and the manufacturing units, and my
    32        people take them round and lecture them and teach them.
    33
    34   Q.   About what you are doing?
    35        A.  About what we are doing and I always speak to the
    36        students as well.
    37
    38   Q.   Do they ever take McDonald's people to the abattoirs, your
    39        people?
    40        A.  By request, yes.  I can think of a particular case on
         the owner/operators and we took them through what I would
    42        call the full circle.  We took them to a live market; we
    43        took them to the abattoir; we took them to the boning room
    44        and then we brought them into the manufacturing plant.  We
    45        did it in chronological order so that they had a full
    46        understanding of the business.
    47
    48   Q.   From beginning to end?
    49        A.  Yes.
    50 
    51   Q.   When you say "owner/operators", you mean owner/operators of 
    52        McDonald's restaurants, do you? 
    53        A.  Absolutely, sir.
    54
    55   Q.   I would like to ask you, if I may, something about your own
    56        personal attitudes towards and perceptions about the
    57        welfare of animals.  Is that a topic on which you have your
    58        own personal views?
    59        A.  Yes, definitely.
    60