Gradall started producing its well-known excavator in the 1940's, during a time wherein the second World War had created a shortage of laborers. This decrease in the labor force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of grading and finishing highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction company that faced this particular problem first hand. Ray and Koop Ferwerda were brothers who had moved from the Netherlands. They were partners in the company which had become amongst the leading highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machine that will save both their business and their livelihoods by inventing a model which will do what had previously been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the army.
The first apparatus these brothers created had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was attached directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to be able to move the beams out and in. This enabled the connected 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 power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new model can be outfitted with either a bucket or a blade 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 done.
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 additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was available as well.