The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, the second World War had created a shortage of workers as nearly all of the young men went away to fight the 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 business that experienced this specific problem first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had moved 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 make a machine that would save their livelihoods and their business by making a unit which would perform what had before been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when a lot of men had joined the army.
The initial apparatus these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was fixed directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to be able to move the beams in and out. This enabled the attached blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design. They created a triangular boom to create more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to rotate 45 degrees in either direction. This new unit can be equipped 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 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 too.