The famous Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the beginning of the 1940s. During this time, World War II had created a shortage of laborers since most of the young men went away to fight the war. This decline in the labor force brought a huge need for the delicate work of grading and finishing highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction company which experienced this particular problem first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become one of the major highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build an equipment which will save their livelihoods and their company by inventing a model which will perform what had previously been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the workplace when a lot of men had joined the military.
The first apparatus these brothers invented 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 out and in. This allowed the fixed 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 power. Next, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new unit can be outfitted 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 a lot of work to be completed.
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 additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket which was offered as well.