The Geo. Gradel Co. of Toledo, OH was the first corporate sponsor of the HCEA and has continued as a major supporter to this day. The company was founded by George Gradel Sr.in1903. It has remained in the construction business for 119years, a feat few firms in the industry can claim. Gradel began as an excavation contractor with hand tools and a horse-drawn dump wagon and expanded to steam-and gas-powered equipment during the 1920s. Similar to the 1927ErieTypeB steam shovel, which resides at their headquarters in Toledo along the Maumee River. An original dump wagon was sold but it stayed in the area and was repurchased, although all that remained were its metal parts. The Gradel Co. restored it and made it a permanent display outside their offices.
The company grew through the 1910s and 20s and survived the Depression during the 1930s. In the late 1930s and through the 1940s, the company expanded its capabilities to include industrial site work and public works construction. George Gradel Sr. retired in 1927 and son Norman took over the reins of the firm. Gradel did the site clearing and excavation work for many of the buildings in downtown Toledo. Among these were the Toledo Trust Building, Owens-Illinois Tower (now Fifth Third Bank Building), Libby-Owens-Ford Building, Tiedtke’sDepartment Store, and Lampson’s Department Store, and Toledo Edison’s Acme generating station. In the 1950s and 60s, Gradel was involved in urban renewal projects including demolition and removal of old buildings. New building work during this period included the Bank One Building, Fiberglass Tower, the Federal Building, Edison Plaza, St. Vincent Hospital, Mercy Hospital, St.Charles Hospital, and the Toledo Edison Bay Shore power plant.
In 1973, Norman Gradel retired and JohnF. Gradel, Sr. became president, the position he still holds. Gradel’s major customers during the period from 1970 to the present included BP’s Toledo refinery and terminal and Gulf Oil’s refinery. Civil works included road and highway grading for Ohio DOT, dredging and environmental remediation work for the US Army Corps of Engineers, environmental work for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and development of solid waste facilities in the Toledo area for browning-Ferris Industries, Waste Management Inc., Envirosafe Services, and the City of Toledo’s Solid Waste Division.
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In the 1980s, Gradel acquired marine equipment for shoreline work and now has the capability to perform both land and marine construction projects. Marine equipment included barges and a Bucyrus-Erie 88-B crane. A 5-yard clam bucket is available for dredging and shoreline projects. During this time, the company started acquiring older machines for its historical equipment collection. Most of the collection centers on International Harvester dozers and Bucyrus Erie cranes and shovels. Some machines of Gradel’s historical collection have been brought to the the HCEA’s Bowling Green shows over the years including the TD-24, TD-18, and other International dozers. In addition to its historical pieces, the company has about 100 machines available for current grading and excavation projects
