Gradall started making its famous excavator during the 1940's, during a time wherein the second World War had created a scarcity of laborers. This decrease in the work force brought a huge need for the delicate work of finishing and grading highway projects.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction business known as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda experienced this particular problem first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had relocated to the USA from the Netherlands. They were partners in the business that had become among the major highway contractors within the state of Ohio. The Ferwerdas' started to build an equipment that would save both their livelihoods and their business by inventing a model that would perform what had before been manual slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the workplace when so many men had joined the military.
The brothers first invented an apparatus which had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, which was fixed on top of a second-hand truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to move the beams in and out. This enabled the connected 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 create more strength. Then, they added a tilt cylinder that allowed the boom to rotate forty-five degrees in either direction. This new unit could be equipped 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 much work to be finished.
Not a long time later, many 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 also offered.