The Origins: Solving a Manual Labor Problem
(1920–1944) The Gradall story begins with Dutch immigrants Ray
and Koop Ferwerda, who established a construction company in Ohio in 1925.
Specializing in road construction, they faced a specific challenge: finish
grading roadside embankments required tedious manual labor using shovels and
rakes. World War II exacerbated this issue as the workforce shifted to
military production, creating a labor shortage. To solve this, the brothers invented a machine to
automate the grading process. In 1944, the first Gradall rolled out of a
rented garage. Unlike traditional cable-operated shovels of the era, this
machine featured a hydraulically powered telescopic boom. This boom could
raise, lower, tilt, and extend, mimicking the wrist action of a human worker
holding a shovel. Early Manufacturing and Expansion (1945–1958) Recognizing the potential of their invention, the
Ferwerdas partnered with Warner & Swasey Co. in 1945 to manufacture the
machines. By 1950, production moved to New Philadelphia, Ohio, a location
that remains the company's headquarters today. During this period, Gradall diversified the mounting
of the excavator to suit different environments: Truck-Mount:
Allowed for highway speeds to move between municipal jobs. Crawler-Mount: Introduced in 1953, this
allowed the machine to navigate rough terrain and confined spaces, such as
steel mills. Railroad
Variations: Models adapted with guide wheels for track maintenance. The Era of Power and Specialization (1958–1980) As the U.S. interstate system expanded, the demand
for larger, more powerful machines grew. The G-1000
(1958): The largest hydraulic excavator of its time, designed for heavy
highway construction. Vertical
Digging (1967): The G-800 introduced a boom and cradle design that allowed
the machine to dig vertically straight down, a standard feature for future
models. Industrial
Maintenance: The G-880SI became the global standard for steel mill
maintenance, utilizing the telescopic boom to reach into furnaces for scaling
operations. The Single-Engine Revolution (1985–2006) One of Gradall's most significant engineering
milestones occurred in 1985 with the debut of the G3WD. Historically,
truck-mounted excavators required two engines: one to drive the truck chassis
and a separate engine to power the hydraulic excavator upper structure. The G3WD introduced the Single-Engine Concept. By
2007, all Gradall truck-mounted excavators were powered by the chassis engine
alone. This innovation reduced fuel consumption, lowered maintenance costs by
30%, and simplified the drivetrain. Modern Innovations and Ownership (2006–2016) In 2006, Gradall was acquired by the Alamo Group.
Under this new ownership, Gradall focused on modernizing the fleet and
expanding into government and municipal markets. Series III
(2006): Introduced a unified platform for parts commonality and a shift from
the traditional yellow to a grey color scheme (later reverting to yellow with
Series IV). Discovery
Series (2015): Integrated the excavator upper structure onto a standard
Freightliner truck chassis, offering an economical solution for county and
city governments. In 2016, Gradall celebrated the production of its
20,000th machine, fittingly sold to the Ferwerda family, descendants of the
original inventors. |
|
Year Founded: 1944 |
|
Main Products: Gradall Excavator |
|
Brand: Gradall Industries, LLC |
|
Country of Origin: USA |
|
Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/Gradall-Excavators-339628602789 |
|
Website: http://www.gradall.com/ |
|
Address: 406 Mill Ave SW, New Philadelphia, OH 44663, United
States |
|
Contact No.: +13303392211 |
.jpg)
0 Comments