Gradall Industries Marks 80 Years of Innovation and Growth

President Mike Popovich reflects on the company’s legacy, growth, and future in excavator technology
Gradall Industries is celebrating 80 years of building hydraulic excavators in Ohio. President Mike Popovich looks back on the company’s history, pointing to its ability to adapt over time, its role in Appalachian communities, and how it has stayed competitive around the world.

He credits the company’s success to a few core strengths: reliable equipment, a strong dealer network, and solid supply chain management.

The discussion also touches on where things are headed next, including new excavator technology like AI and camera systems designed to improve safety and make jobsites more efficient.

About the Author

Gavin Jenkins, Head of Content

Head of Content

Gavin Jenkins is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in The New York TimesThe Washington PostThe AtlanticVICE, Narrative.lyPrevention, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Beijing Review

In 2020, two stories he wrote for Pitt Med Magazine earned three Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “Surviving Survival” won Excellence in Corporate, Marketing and Promotional Communications – Written, Medical/Health, while “Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh’s Darkest Day, and the Mass Casualty Response” won Excellence in Written Journalism, Magazines – Medical/Health, as well as the Ray Sprigle Memorial Award: Magazines, a Best in Show award.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2003, he covered sports for the Bedford Gazette, in Bedford, Pa., and the Martinsville Bulletin, in Martinsville, Va. In 2006, he returned to Pittsburgh to write for Trib Total Media. Based out of the Kittanning Leader Times, he worked for the Trib for two years, and then he moved to Shenzhen, China, to teach English and freelance. After two years in China, he earned an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.

When he's not at work, he's usually playing with his border-collie mix, Bob.

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