The famous Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had caused a shortage of workers because nearly all of the young men went away to fight the war. This decrease in the work force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction company known as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda faced this specific dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had relocated to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become amongst the major highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build a machine that will save their livelihoods and their business by inventing a unit which would perform what had previously been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the army.
The brothers initially created a device that had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, that was fixed on top of a used truck. They used a telescopic cylinder 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 creating a triangular boom to create more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit could be outfitted 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 completed.
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 available too.