Gradall started producing its famous excavator in the 1940's, during a time in which WWII had caused a shortage of workers. This decrease in the work force brought a huge demand for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda was a Cleveland, Ohio based construction business which experienced 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 one of the leading highway contractors in the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to make a machinery that would save their company and their livelihoods by making a unit which will do what had previously 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 device these brothers invented had 2 beams set on a rotating platform and was fixed directly onto the top of a truck. They used a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. 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 first design. They made a triangular boom to produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder that allowed the boom to turn 45 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 back of the boom. This design powered a long push rod and allowed much work to be completed.
Numerous digging buckets were introduced to the market not long later. These buckets in sizes ranging from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was additionally a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket that was also offered.