Gradall began making its well-known excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein World War II had caused a scarcity of laborers. This decrease in the labor force brought a huge need for the delicate work of grading and finishing 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 company which had become among the major highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build a machine which will save their business and their livelihoods by making a unit that will perform what had before been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when so many men had joined the military.
The first apparatus these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was connected directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams in and out. This allowed the connected 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 produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which allowed the boom to rotate 45 degrees in either direction. This new model can be outfitted 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 finished.
Not a long time after, many digging buckets became available 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 too.