HERMISTON — Phil Cimmiyotti is passing the torch after nearly 50 years with Ross Machine and Iron Works in Hermiston.

Married couple Treve and Mandy Palmateer took over the front desk Aug. 1, but Cimmiyotti, who owned the business with his wife, Debbie, plan to stay and help for the next few months.

“It’s all a huge learning curve,” Mandy Palmateer said. “We go home, and Treve quizzes me on metal. It’s both intimidating and exciting to be taking on.”

Phil Cimmiyotti started his time at Ross Machine and Iron Works at 17 years old as a general worker, and gradually moved up the ranks. In 1995, at the age of 37, Phil started managing the fabrication shop. He bought the business in 2010.

Purchasing the business wasn’t a difficult decision — Phil Cimmiyotti said he had worked there more than 30 years and knew he was capable of running the establishment.

While the business helps with repairs and structural fabrication, the majority of its work is helping with irrigation at local farms. The company builds steel pipes to transport water from the Columbia River to each farm.

Since taking ownership, Phil Cimmiyotti expanded the business.

“Well, I just expanded on these water projects from what we were doing before,” he said. “I added more booster stations out on these farms, some have up to 30 miles of pipeline.”

A booster station helps control water pressure and flow on a farm, and helps push water through the pipelines throughout the fields.

“We have these 6-foot diameter pipes that run through the farm, and they connect to other pumps that push the water further down the irrigation lines,” Phil Cimmyotti said.

While a steady stream of service has graced the business in the past 14 years, the pandemic brought a decline in help.

After a few years of unsteady help, Phil Cimmiyotti decided to auction off his excess equipment, and through the notice and word of mouth, the opportunity to buy fell to the Palmateers.

The couple quickly took advantage, and contacted Phil Cimmiyotti within a few weeks of the notice to buy the company.

“It was actually my grandma that pushed it,” Treve Palmateer said. “I told her somebody needs to buy the business, and she said ‘why not us?'”

Although the Palmateers are thrilled to take on a new project, they said their first priority will be their 55,000 acres of farm property.