The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had caused a scarcity of laborers as the majority of the young men went away to fight the war. This decline in the labor force brought a huge need for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction company referred to as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda faced this particular dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had moved to the United States from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm which had become one of the major highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build a machinery that will save their livelihoods and their company by making a model which would carry out what had before been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the army.
The brothers first invented an apparatus that had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, that was connected on top of a second-hand truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This allowed the fixed blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design. They created a triangular boom to create more strength. After that, 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 done.
Not a long time later, 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 also offered.