The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, WWII had created a scarcity of laborers since nearly all 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 experienced this particular dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm that had become one of the major highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build an equipment that will save their livelihoods and their business by inventing a model which would perform 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 military.
The initial device these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was fixed directly onto the top of a truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This enabled the attached blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design by making a triangular boom to create more strength. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which allowed the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new model could be outfitted with either a bucket or a blade 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 much work to be completed.
Not a long time after, many digging buckets were introduced 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 offered as well.