The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the beginning of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had created a scarcity of workers since the majority of the young men went away to war. This decrease in the labor 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 experienced this specific dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Koop and Ray Ferwerda had relocated to the United States from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business which had become one of the leading highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build a machinery that will save their business and their livelihoods by inventing a unit which would perform what had previously been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the workplace when a lot of men had joined the military.
The first device these brothers created had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was attached directly onto the top of a truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to be able to move the beams in and out. This allowed the attached 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. Then, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to rotate 45 degrees in either direction. This new model can be equipped 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 done.
Not a long time after, numerous 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 that was also available.