The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had caused a shortage of workers since nearly all of the young men went away to war. This decrease in the labor force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of grading and finishing highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction company that faced this particular dilemma first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business that had become amongst the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make an equipment which would save both their company and their livelihoods by inventing a model which would carry out what had before been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the military.
The brothers first created a device which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, which was connected on top of a second-hand truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This allowed the connected 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 produce 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 equipped 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 a lot of work to be done.
Not a long time after, numerous digging buckets were introduced 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 that was also offered.