Gradall started making its well-known excavator in the 1940's, during a time wherein WWII had created a shortage of workers. This decline in the work 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 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 amongst the major highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to make an equipment which will save both their business and their livelihoods by inventing a unit which will do what had before been manual slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when a lot of men had joined the military.
The first device these brothers created had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was attached directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder 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 produce more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that allowed the boom to turn forty-five degrees in either direction. This new model can be outfitted 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 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 which was available too.