The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the beginning of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had caused a scarcity of workers because the majority of the young men went away to war. This decline in the work 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 experienced this particular problem first hand. Two brothers, Koop and Ray Ferwerda had relocated to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company which had become one of the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machine which will save both their company and their livelihoods by inventing a model that will do what had before been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the military.
The brothers initially created an apparatus that had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, which was attached on top of a second-hand truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to be able to move the beams out and in. This enabled the attached blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design by making a triangular boom to create more power. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new model could be outfitted with either a bucket or a blade and the attachment movement was made possible by placing a cylinder at the rear of the boom. This design powered a long push rod and allowed a lot of work to be finished.
Not a long time after, numerous digging buckets became available on the market. These buckets came in 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch sizes. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was available as well.