When StarKist Samoa resumes production in January, it will be under new ownership, the company's general manager said.
The two canneries' annual end-of-year shut down began after last weeks shift and will ‘resume on Jan. 6th 2003, officials of StarKist Samoa and COS Samoa Packing said.
"A very unusual feature this holiday is that StarKist Samoa runs up to the shutdown as part of H.J. Heinz and starts again in January as part of Del Monte," said StarKist Samoa general manager Phil Thirkell in a Christmas message published in the company's quarterly newsletter, "Si'ufofoga: The voice of StarKist Samoa Inc."
In June last year, Del Monte and Heinz agreed to the deal in which Heinz will spin off its StarKist tuna, soup, baby food and pet food businesses and fold them into a newly structured company which will keep the Del Monte name.
The estimated $2.5 billion deal, includes transferring $1.1 billion in Heinz debt to Del Monte.
Thirkell said "it seems incredible that it is December already and the date of settlement is so close". "As we have said all along, for StarKist Samoa it will be business as usual," Thirkell said. "We will just have to demonstrate to our new owner how our plant came to have such a good reputation with our previous owner." "Once again, it will be up to us in the New Year to show our character through our results," he added.
Thirkell is currently off-island. He and other StarKist officials reiterated during an earlier press conference that the merger would not precipitate any changes in the local operation.
Sources said the transition period for the Del Monte takeover was expected to have started this week, during the shutdown period. Thirkell was expected back on island over the weekend and may be accompanied by other StarKist Seafood officials.
Del Monte officials were on island last November conducting a site visit and meeting with StarKist Samoa officials.