Santos Herrera Melgoza is a young 51 year old, but his experience in farming equipment would lead you to believe he must be decades older. Not so. It’s simply a matter of a man who has a passion for all things mechanical and a constant desire to learn and improve himself.

As a young teen, while living in his hometown of Ranch La Cal Grande in Guanajuato, Mexico, Santos went to an agricultural camp called Campo Experimental Agricola. While most learned how to better grow crops, Santos focused on learning about the mechanical aspects of fixing tractors and other large farming machines.

In 1973, at the age of 17, Santos moved to the United States and promptly entered the National Schools Technical Institute where he learned more about diesel engines and large equipment. After five and a half years of studying Santos was skilled enough for a job at Power Machinery. Starting in 1977, as a mechanic, he was encouraged to get his commercial driver’s license because there was more need for deliveries than mechanical work at Power at the time. He did that, but always rushed back to the shop to learn more from his mentor Paul Rigney. “This man knew everything about engines, parts and more. Every one that knew him liked him.” Eventually, Santos was able to become a full-time mechanic at Power.

“Power Machinery sent me to learn about John Deere tractors (and more), and gave me the opportunities to learn,” Santos said. They even sent him to learn about electric forklifts and that part of the business grew to become a major part of Power’s expertise. After 16 1/2 years at Power Machinery, Santos was offered a job at Boskovich Farms as a mechanic shop supervisor. It was what he wanted to do and he left Power under good terms.

After 15 years working for Boskovich, Santos knew that it was time to start his own company. Boskovich not only let him go with instructions “Don’t Fail” but also helped get him going. Santos originally expected to have a lot of auto business, but the farming clients were so dedicated that autos eventually faded away from the picture. The first version of Santos Truck & Auto Repair opened in 1996 on Wooley Road in Oxnard. Quickly, by 1998, they realized the need for more space and moved to Statham blvd. The only sad tale in this story was that the shop was then burglarized. The burglars took everything. But a move to Arcturas Ave saw the shop quickly recover thanks to the loyalty of customers. By 2003 more room was needed again and Santos moved to a 7,000 square-foot facility on Galaxy Place and opened a second shop in Camarillo with 14,000 square-feet of room.