Still Digging Differently: Gradall Celebrates 80 Years of Telescoping Excavators (Enjoy Some Old Photos)

I love brands that build their own lane. There is a certain subset of construction equipment manufacturers that engineer unique products that nobody else does. Gradall is one of those companies. It makes these specialized wheeled and crawler excavators with awesome telescoping, tilting boom designs. Some of these are produced as high-speed wheeled excavators, aimed at roading (up to 60 mph) and then working deftly on paved surfaces (telescoping up to 50 feet). Units have found work doing everything from highway excavating to mine scaling. I can’t think of any other brand quite like them — maybe something like an old Badger 470TM — but Gradall’s got their own thing going on in my mind.

And the company’s been making them for a long time. In fact, Gradall is celebrating 80 years of manufacturing unique hydraulic excavators in New Philadelphia, Ohio, in 2026. That is a long run in any industry. It is even more impressive in construction equipment, where ownership changes, recessions, regulations, and technology shifts can bury a nameplate fast. This post celebrates that milestone with a showcase of Gradall machines past and present. Before the photos, let’s take a quick ride through one of construction equipment’s more interesting brands.

Two brothers, one problem, one weirdly brilliant idea

The Gradall story starts with Ray and Koop Ferwerda, brothers who emigrated from Holland to Cleveland in 1920. Editor’s note: I live in northeast Ohio, so I love a good Cleveland origin story. The brothers worked construction, then launched Ferwerda Brothers Construction Co. by the mid-1920s. In those days, there were clearly a lot of jobsite challenges, but the brothers zeroed in on a way to speed up finish grade work around road construction, which at the time still used hand tools. It was slow, hard labor. Worker shortages around World War II accelerated the need.

So, they built a machine to do it better. In 1944, the first Gradall prototype rolled out of a garage in Beachwood, Ohio. It used a hydraulically powered telescoping boom with a bucket that could articulate at the wrist. They did it right from the start. This combination let operators trench, grade slopes, dig holes, and load trucks at distance and height with an uncommon precision and ability to navigate over, under, and around obstacles.

Hydraulic before hydraulics were cool

Historical fun fact: Gradall was the first fully hydraulic excavator produced in the United States, according to company history. Most excavators of the time still relied on cables. That gave it a head start in controllability and versatility. The Warner & Swasey Co. acquired the Gradall patents in 1945 and introduced the first production M-2400 model in 1946. Manufacturing moved from Cleveland to New Philadelphia in 1950, where it remains today. That means eight decades of machine evolution tied to one Ohio community. Not many brands can say that.

This April, Scott Robinson, president of the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce, presented a collection of 80th anniversary proclamations to Mike Popovich, president of Gradall Industries. Those proclamations were from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel, U.S. Senator Jon Husted, U.S. Representative Michael Rulli, State Representative, Jodi Salvo, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Earlier, proclamations were issued by Tuscarawas County commissioners and New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day.

“This is a tribute to the scores of people who have worked at Gradall over the years — many of them second and third-generation members of their families, who were proud to produce our machines and support their families while doing it,” said Popovich in the press release.

The boom that built the brand

Ask equipment veterans what makes a Gradall different, and they usually start with the boom. The triangular telescoping boom can extend, retract, tilt, and reach in ways conventional excavator arms cannot. The Gradall boom is great for working at odd angles under trees, bridges, and other jobsite obstacles. Most of the telecoping booms on these units go out over 30 feet at ground level. With the optional Telestick attachment, the reach on select Series V models can extend to as much as 50 feet.

Gradall also claims the “world’s most advanced high-pressure, load-sensing hydraulics system,” which allows its boom and bucket/attachment to deliver full power even while telescoping. Of course, Gradall telescoping excavators do more than dig. They can wield hammers, mowers, buckets, and grapples, and they can use those implements while both rotating the boom and telescoping. Full-length rotation of the boom is an extremely unique feature. To help with these unique operations, there is an in-cab switch to select Gradall, Deere, or SAE joystick patterns.

What markets are these machines going into?

Today, Gradall makes a variety of telescoping excavator iterations. One current example is the XE 4100, introduced around Conexpo 2026. The machine targets budget-conscious government fleets and specialty contractors with lower weight, road mobility, and Gradall’s familiar boom performance. But the company produces machines for all types of markets. It makes highway-speed wheeled excavators that can travel up to 60 mph. The company serves steel mills, aluminum mills, rail operations, and mines with purpose-built variants. In fact, Gradall machines have found homes in:

• Roadside ditching and drainage
• Municipal street and culvert work
• Railroad maintenance
• Steel and aluminum mill cleanup
• Mine scaling
• Demolition
• Vegetation management
• Utility and specialty excavation

The Alamo Group connection

It’s worth noting that Gradall is wholly owned by Alamo Group, based in Seguin, Texas. Alamo owns a broad portfolio of brands across infrastructure maintenance, vegetation management, agriculture, sweepers, vacuum trucks, forestry equipment, and specialty industrial products. Other brands owned by Alamo include Boxer, Rayco, Bush Hog, VacAll, Dixie Chopper, Timberwolf, Tiger, Henke Mfg., Ring-O-Matic, and lots more.

Up next: photos of old machines

Some machines need a logo to be recognized. A Gradall just needs its silhouette. That telescoping boom, truck-speed mobility, and oddball versatility have kept this brand relevant and recognizable for generations. It was different in 1946. It is still different in 2026. Now let’s get to the fun part — the photos. Enjoy this showcase of Gradall machines celebrating 80 years of American-built excavator ingenuity.

Editor's note: All photos were provided by Gradall, and we thank them.