Gradall began making its famous excavator during the 1940's, during a time in which World War II had created 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 experienced this specific dilemma first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become among the leading highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to make a machine which would save their livelihoods and their company by inventing a unit that would perform what had previously been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when a lot of men had joined the military.
The initial apparatus these brothers created had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was fixed directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder 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 making a triangular boom to produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to turn forty-five 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 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 ranging from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket which was also available.