The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, WWII had created a shortage of workers because most of the young men went away to war. This decline in the labor force brought a huge need for the delicate work of grading and finishing highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction business known as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda experienced this particular problem first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had relocated to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company which had become amongst the leading highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to make a machine that will save their livelihoods and their business by making a unit that would carry out what had previously been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when lots of men had joined the army.
The first apparatus these brothers created had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was attached directly onto the top of a truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder in order to move the beams out and in. This allowed the attached blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design by making a triangular boom to produce more power. After that, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to turn 45 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 done.
Numerous digging buckets became available on the market not long after. These buckets in sizes varying from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was also available.