Gradall started making its famous excavator in the 1940's, during a time wherein the second World War had created a scarcity of laborers. This decrease 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 business which faced this particular dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become among the leading highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machine which would save both their company and their livelihoods by inventing a unit that will perform what had previously been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when lots of men had joined the army.
The first device these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was attached directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder in order to move the beams in and out. This enabled the connected blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design by creating a triangular boom to create more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled 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 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 also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was also available.