Gradall began producing its well-known excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein WWII had created a scarcity of laborers. This decline 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 faced this particular dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business that had become amongst the leading highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build a machine which would save their livelihoods and their business by inventing a unit that would perform what had previously been manual slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the army.
The brothers initially invented a device which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, that was attached on top of a used truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams in and out. This enabled 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 made a triangular boom to create more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder that allowed the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new model can be outfitted with either a blade or a bucket 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 done.
Not a long time later, numerous digging buckets became available on the market. These buckets came in 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch sizes. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was offered too.