Gradall Event Honors Manufacture of 20,000th Excavator
Gradall Industries, Inc., rolled out its 20,000th excavator on Friday, June 24, 2016 during a celebration at its headquarters that included employees, retirees, community leaders and a variety of local, state and federal government officials.
The 20,000th machine was a Discovery Series D154 model, specially wrapped in red, white and blue to signify Gradall’s association with the “I Make America” campaign organized by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Discovery Series models are Gradall’s newest – introduced in February 2015 and positioned as an economical solution for governments that need multi-purpose machines for ditching, grading and street repair.
Mike Haberman, president of Gradall Industries, recognized the importance of government support on every level, welcoming U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, State Rep. Al Landis and Mayors Joel Day of New Philadelphia and Rick Homrighausen of Dover to the dais.
Gradall is the only manufacturer that produces excavators only in America, creating an appropriate link to the “I Make America” initiative of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which was represented at the event. “I Make America” highlights the manufacturing issues at stake this election season, and promotes the public policies manufacturers like Gradall need to stay globally competitive.
The 20,000th machine was sold to GS Equipment, a Gradall distributor in Florida, owned by the Ferwerda family – descendants of Ray and Koop Ferwerda, the inventors of the first Gradall prototypes in 1944. Attending Friday’s event were Ray Ferwerda Jr., grandson of Koop, and Ray’s son, Fred. Keys to the machine were handed over to the Ferwerdas by Ted DeMattio, a Gradall retiree who drove the first excavator off the manufacturing floor in New Philadelphia in 1950.
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