The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had created a scarcity of workers because nearly all of the young men went away to war. This decline in the labor 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 that experienced this specific problem first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business that had become one of the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build a machinery that would save their company and their livelihoods by inventing a unit that would perform what had previously been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when a lot of men had joined the army.
The initial 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 in order to move the beams in and out. This allowed the connected blade at the end of the beams to pull or push dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design. They made a triangular boom to create more power. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn forty-five degrees in either direction. This new model could 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 much work to be done.
Not a long time after, numerous digging buckets were introduced 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 available too.