The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, the second World War had caused a scarcity of laborers as most 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.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction business which faced this particular dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm which had become among the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to make an equipment that would save their company and their livelihoods by making a model that would perform what had before been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many 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 used a telescopic cylinder in order to move the beams in and out. This enabled the fixed blade at the end of the beams to pull or push dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design. They created a triangular boom to create more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new model could be outfitted with either a blade or a bucket 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 later, many digging buckets became available on the market. These buckets came in 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch sizes. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket which was offered as well.