The well-known Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, the second World War had caused a scarcity of laborers as nearly all of the young men went away to fight the war. This decrease 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 that experienced this specific dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business which had become amongst the major highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machinery that will save their business and their livelihoods by making a model that will carry out what had previously been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when a lot of men had joined the military.
The initial device these brothers created had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was connected directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This enabled the fixed blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design by making a triangular boom to create more strength. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that allowed the boom to rotate forty-five 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.