The famous Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the start of the 1940s. During this time, WWII had created a scarcity of laborers as the majority of the young men went away to war. This decrease in the work force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction company known as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda faced this particular dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had moved to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm that had become amongst the major highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build a machinery which would save both their company and their livelihoods by making a model which will do what had before been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the workplace when a lot of men had joined the army.
The initial apparatus 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 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 created a triangular boom to create more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit could be equipped 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 finished.
Not a long time later, 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 which was available too.