Gradall started making its well-known excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein the second World War had caused a shortage of laborers. This decline 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 faced this specific problem first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business which had become one of the major highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machine which will save their livelihoods and their business by making a unit which will carry out what had before been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the military.
The first device these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was connected directly onto the top of a truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This allowed the fixed blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design. They made a triangular boom to produce more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit could be outfitted with either a blade or a bucket 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.
Not a long time later, many digging buckets became available on the market. These buckets came in 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch sizes. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was offered as well.