The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the beginning of the 1940s. During this time, the second World War had created a scarcity of workers as most 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.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction company that faced this specific problem first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become one of the major highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build a machine which will save both their business and their livelihoods by inventing a unit which will carry out 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 army.
The brothers first invented an apparatus which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, which was fixed on top of a used 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.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design by creating a triangular boom to produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder that allowed the boom to turn forty-five degrees in either direction. This new model 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 a lot of work to be finished.
Many digging buckets were introduced to the market not long later. 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.