Gradall started making its well-known excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein the second World War had created a shortage of workers. This decline in the labor force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of grading and finishing highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction company known as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda experienced this particular dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had moved to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm which had become one of the leading highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make an equipment that will save their livelihoods and their company by making a model which would perform what had previously been manual slope work. This invention was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the army.
The brothers first invented an apparatus that had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, which was connected on top of a used truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to be able to move the beams out and in. 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 which allowed the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit can be equipped with either a blade or a bucket and the attachment movement was made possible by placing a cylinder at the rear of the boom. This design powered a long push rod and allowed a lot of work to be completed.
Not a long time after, numerous digging buckets were introduced on the market. These buckets came in 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch sizes. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was available too.