The famous Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had caused a scarcity of laborers because the majority of the young men went away to fight the war. This decline in the work 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 faced this specific problem first hand. Two brothers, Koop and Ray Ferwerda had moved to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become one of the leading highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make an equipment that will save their livelihoods and their company by making a unit that will do what had before been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the military.
The initial device 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 to be able to move the beams out and in. This enabled the fixed 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 produce more strength. Next, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit can be outfitted 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 completed.
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 which was offered too.