The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, WWII had caused a scarcity of laborers because the majority of the young men went away to war. This decline in the work force brought a huge need for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction business which faced this particular problem first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company which had become among the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build an equipment which will save both their livelihoods and their business by making a model that will carry out what had previously been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the military.
The first apparatus these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was attached directly onto the top of a truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This enabled the connected blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design. They made a triangular boom to create more strength. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new model can be equipped with either a bucket or a blade 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 finished.
Many digging buckets were introduced to the market not long later. These buckets in sizes ranging from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was also offered.