This video clip shows a machine that is rarely seen here in the UK but is very popular in America.
The legendary Gradall excavator traces its roots back to the early 1940s -- a time when World War II created a scarcity of laborers for delicate and necessary grading and finishing work on highway projects.
Warner & Swasey originally acquired Gradall excavators from inventors Ray and Koop Ferwerda in 1945 and set it up as a separate division in 1950. Over the years, the Gradall Division also included other manufacturing concerns: one produced crane carriers and heavy-duty dump trucks; another produced small hydraulic backhoes; a third made carrier mounted and rough terrain hydraulic cranes.
Many different models have been produced over the years and some of the most popular machines are mounted on the back of road going trucks, which are very useful on highway maintenance jobs.
The machine seen here looks like an XL3200 model.
