Gradall began making its well-known excavator in the 1940's, during a time in which World War II had created a scarcity of workers. 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 that experienced this specific problem first hand. Koop and Ray Ferwerda were brothers who had relocated from the Netherlands. They were partners in the firm which had become amongst the major highway contractors in Ohio. The Ferwerdas' set out to build a machine which will save their livelihoods and their business by inventing a unit which will do 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 invented a device which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, that was attached on top of a used truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to move the beams out and in. This enabled the fixed blade at the end of the beams to pull or push dirt.
After a short time, the Ferwerda brothers improved on their initial design. They made a triangular boom to create more power. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that enabled the boom to rotate 45 degrees in either direction. This new model could 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 a lot of work to be completed.
Many digging buckets became available on the market not long later. These buckets in sizes varying from 15 inch, 24 inch, 36 inch and 60 inch buckets. There was also a 47 inch heavy-duty pavement removal bucket which was also available.