The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the beginning of the 1940s. During this time, WWII had caused a scarcity of workers as nearly all of the young men went away to war. This decline in the labor force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction business known as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda faced this particular problem first hand. Two brothers, Koop and Ray Ferwerda had relocated to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business that had become among the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build an equipment which will save their business and their livelihoods by making a model which will perform what had previously been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when lots of men had joined the army.
The initial device these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was connected directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams in and out. This allowed the attached blade at the end of the beams to pull or push dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design by making a triangular boom to create more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to turn forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit can be equipped with either a blade or a bucket and the attachment movement was made possible by placing a cylinder at the back of the boom. This design powered a long push rod and allowed much work to be done.
Numerous digging buckets were introduced to the market not long later. These buckets in sizes varying from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket which was available too.