Gradall started producing its famous excavator in the 1940's, during a time wherein WWII had created a shortage of laborers. This decline in the labor force brought a huge need for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction business which experienced this particular dilemma first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business which had become among the leading highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to make a machinery that will save their company and their livelihoods by inventing a unit which will perform what had before been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the military.
The brothers initially created a device which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, which was attached on top of a used truck. They used a telescopic cylinder in order to move the beams in and out. This enabled the connected blade at the end of the beams to push or pull dirt.
The Ferwerda brothers improved on their first design by making a triangular boom to produce more power. Next, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit can be equipped 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 completed.
Many digging buckets were introduced to the market not long after. 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 as well.