The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the beginning of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had created a shortage of workers since the majority 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 finishing and grading highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction business which faced this specific dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become one of the leading highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build an equipment which would save their company and their livelihoods by inventing a unit that would carry out what had before been manual slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the army.
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 pull or push dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design by creating a triangular boom to produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new unit could 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 finished.
Not a long time later, 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 that was offered too.