Gradall started making its famous excavator during the 1940's, during a time in which WWII had created a scarcity of laborers. This decrease in the labor force brought a huge need for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction company referred to as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda faced this particular dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had moved to the United States from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company that had become one of the leading highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build a machinery that would save their livelihoods and their business by inventing a model which would perform what had previously been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when a lot of men had joined the army.
The initial apparatus these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was connected directly onto the top of a truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to move the beams in and out. This allowed the attached blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design. They made a triangular boom to create more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit 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 much work to be done.
Not a long time later, many digging buckets were introduced on the market. These buckets came in 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch sizes. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was also available.