The famous Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, the second World War had caused a scarcity of workers because nearly all 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 company which experienced this particular dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business which had become amongst the major highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build an equipment which will save their company and their livelihoods by inventing a model which 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 initial device 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 fixed 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 strength. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which allowed the boom to rotate 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 a lot of work to be finished.
Numerous digging buckets were introduced to the market not long after. These buckets in sizes varying from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was offered too.