The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, WWII had caused a shortage of workers as the majority of the young men went away to war. This decline in the work force brought a huge need for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction business which faced this specific problem first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business which had become one of the leading highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machinery which would save their livelihoods and their company by inventing a model that will do 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 first 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 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. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit can be outfitted 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 much work to be completed.
Many digging buckets became available on the market not long later. These buckets in sizes varying from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket which was offered as well.