Gradall started producing its famous excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein WWII had created a scarcity of workers. 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 company which experienced this specific dilemma first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm that had become amongst the major highway contractors within Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machine which will save both their livelihoods and their business by making a unit which will carry out 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 military.
The initial 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 out and in. This enabled the attached blade at the end of the beams to pull or push dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design by creating a triangular boom to produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit can 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.
Many digging buckets became available on the market not long later. These buckets in sizes varying from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was offered too.