Gradall began making its famous excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein World War II had caused a scarcity of laborers. This decline in the work force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of grading and finishing highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction company which experienced this specific problem first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm that had become one of the major highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build a machine which will save both their company and their livelihoods by making a model that will carry out what had before been physical slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the army.
The brothers initially created an apparatus which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, that was connected on top of a used truck. They used a telescopic cylinder in order to move the beams in and out. This allowed the attached 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 create more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which allowed the boom to rotate 45 degrees in either direction. This new model can be equipped 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.
Many digging buckets became available on the market not long later. These buckets in sizes ranging from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was also offered.