Gradall began making its well-known excavator in the 1940's, during a time in which the second World War 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.
A Cleveland, Ohio construction business referred to as Ferwerda-Werba-Ferwerda faced this specific dilemma first hand. Two brothers, Ray and Koop Ferwerda had moved to the USA 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 build an equipment which will save both their business and their livelihoods by inventing a unit that will perform what had previously been physical slope work. This creation was to offset the gap left in the worksite when a lot of men had joined the army.
The brothers first invented an apparatus that had 2 beams set on a rotating platform, that was fixed on top of a used truck. They utilized a telescopic cylinder to be able to move the beams in and out. This allowed the fixed 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 produce more strength. After that, they added a tilt cylinder which enabled the boom to turn 45 degrees in either direction. This new model can 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 completed.
Not a long time after, numerous digging buckets became available 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 which was also offered.