Samoa Tuna Processors has appointed a new General Manager to replace Herman Gebauer who was appointed in 2014 as GM of the local cannery.
A press release from the company says that Gebauer has announced that he will retire from Samoa Tuna Processors effective this April.
The statement said Gebauer’s contributions over the years have made a significant difference at STP, including the instrumental work he did in helping the company during the construction and start-up of the new state-of-the-art processing plant.
Gebauer will remain on the STP team as an operational consultant until his retirement in April.
Effective immediately, Fa’afoi Palepua will replace Herman as STP’s new General Manager.
Palepua was Deputy General manager of StarKist Samoa but was appointed last October by Tri Marine International, STP’s parent company as part of STP’s management team.
He had worked for Starkist Smaoa for 36 years starting as a fish cleaner.
Heidi Happonen, spokesperson for Tri Marine said Palepua has over 30 years of canned and pouch tuna experience.
He will be responsible for both the day to day operations and administrative functions of the facility, reporting directly to Tuna Store and STP CEO Don Binotto.
Binotto said , “We appreciate the many contributions Herman has made at STP and wish him the very best.
“At the same time, we are excited about Fa’afoi’s new role as he helps us continue to take STP operations to the next level.”
