What CDH-Japan does

CDH-Japan Ltd. (日本CDH株式会社) is a Japanese CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) specialist and wholly-owned subsidiary of CDH AG (Germany), founded in 2000 and headquartered in Shin-Yokohama, Yokohama. The company provides advanced engineering services and distributes proprietary software for virtual product development, primarily serving Japanese automotive OEMs (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Subaru, Isuzu, Hino) along with marine, commercial vehicle, and general engineering manufacturers. Its technical core is finite element method (FEM) analysis for crash safety, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), structural optimization, and acoustic radiation, where the proprietary software suite addresses high-performance compute bottlenecks in large-scale simulations.

The company offers eight proprietary CDH-branded software products (CDH/AMLS, CDH/FastFRS, CDH/AutoSPOT, CDH/VAO, CDH/OPTRAN, CDH/RADOPT, CDH/TPA, CDH/ACE) that integrate with major commercial FEM solvers (Nastran, Abaqus, LS-DYNA, PAM-CRASH, RADIOSS, OptiStruct). It also holds distribution rights for an ecosystem of third-party tools including GNS crash safety software and barrier models, ATD-MODELS crash dummy FE models, CELLBOND-PHITEC Q-dummy child occupant models, Fraunhofer SCAI tools, and SIDACT FEMZIP compression software. CDH-Japan is the Asian distribution and engineering hub for CDH AG, which has offices in Germany (Ingolstadt, Stuttgart, Herbolzheim) and the USA (Michigan) with a combined 50+ engineering staff, and operates additional distribution partnerships in China, South Korea, and India.

Revenue is generated through two streams: engineering consulting services (CAE analysis, crash simulation, NVH, structural optimization, FE modeling, project management on multi-year project or retainer bases) and CAE software licensing (quote-based enterprise licenses with support contracts and maintenance). Training is offered at 120,000 JPY per half-day session, and 1-month free software trials are used to drive enterprise adoption. The go-to-market is direct enterprise sales targeting CAE engineering departments of automotive manufacturers, supplemented by product introduction seminars, training programs, annual user meetings (the 25th anniversary user meeting was held September 2025 at Hilton Yokohama), and industry exhibition participation.

Name

CDH-Japan

Legal name

日本CDH株式会社 (CDH-Japan Ltd.)

Website

https://cdh.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CDH-Japan is a wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary of German CDH AG, providing CAE software and virtual product development engineering services for crash safety, NVH, and structural optimization to Japanese automotive OEMs and industrial manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Engineering services including CAE analysis, consulting, and virtual development support for automotive, marine, aerospace, and general engineering sectors. Services include crash simulation, NVH analysis, structural analysis, FE modeling, and project management. Billed as project-based or retainer engagements.
2. CAE Software Sales and Support: Distribution and support of proprietary CDH software (CDH/AMLS, CDH/FastFRS, CDH/VAO, CDH/OPTRAN, CDH/RADOPT, CDH/TPA, CDH/ACE, CDH/AutoSPOT) and third-party software (GNS Animator/Generator, GNS crash barrier models, ATD dummy models, Fraunhofer SCAI tools, FEMZIP). Software licenses are sold with support contracts and maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CDH-Japan distributes and supports proprietary CDH AG CAE software (CDH/AMLS, CDH/FastFRS, CDH/VAO, CDH/OPTRAN, CDH/RADOPT, CDH/TPA, CDH/ACE, CDH/AutoSPOT) and an ecosystem of third-party CAE tools (GNS Animator/Generator, GNS crash barrier FE models, ATD-MODELS dummy models, Fraunhofer SCAI tools, SIDACT FEMZIP, CELLBOND-PHITEC Q-Dummy) for automotive, marine, and industrial engineering applications. The company also provides specialist engineering consulting services covering crash simulation, NVH analysis, structural optimization, FE modeling, and virtual product development for Japanese manufacturers.

Product overview

CDH-Japan is a CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) specialist and Japanese subsidiary of CDH AG (Germany), founded in 2000. The company offers a portfolio of eight proprietary CDH-branded CAE software products — CDH/AMLS (eigenvalue analysis accelerator), CDH/FastFRS (fast frequency response solver), CDH/AutoSPOT (spot weld automatic modeling), CDH/VAO (vibration and acoustic design optimization environment), CDH/OPTRAN (NVH post-processing automation), CDH/RADOPT (BEM-FEM noise radiation optimization), CDH/TPA (virtual transfer path analysis), and CDH/ACE (physics-based and data-driven CAE assistance framework) — complemented by distributed third-party products including GNS Animator/Generator (high-speed post-processor and pre-processor for crash safety), GNS crash barrier FE models (AC-MDB, MPDB, ODB, IIHS 2.0, and others), ATD-MODELS crash dummy FE models (Hybrid III, THOR, aPLI, fPLI, H-Point Manikin, Motorcyclist), CELLBOND-PHITEC Q-Dummy child occupant models, Fraunhofer SCAI tools (SimCompare, ModelCompare, SimExplore), and SIDACT FEMZIP compression software. The CDH/AMLS + CDH/FastFRS + CDH/OPTRAN + CDH/VAO suite forms an integrated NVH analysis pipeline, while CDH/RADOPT and CDH/TPA address acoustic and transfer path analysis. Engineering services are provided for automotive, marine, and commercial vehicle sectors, alongside product training programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CDH Software: CDH AGが開発したCAEソフトウェア製品群（CDH/AMLS、CDH/FastFRS、CDH/AutoSPOT、CDH/VAO、CDH/OPTRAN、CDH/RADOPT、CDH/TPA、CDH/ACE）。
• GNS Software
• Fraunhofer SCAI
• SIDACT FEMZIP
• ATD-MODELS
• CELLBOND-PHITEC Q-Dummy

Products and services

• CDH/AMLS Accelerates large-scale finite element model eigenvalue analysis and frequency response analysis using the Automated Multi-Level Sub-structuring (AMLS) method, reducing CPU time to 1/3–1/10 and I/O to 1/30–1/70 of conventional methods. Sold to CAE engineering departments of automotive OEMs and suppliers.
• CDH/FastFRS Fast frequency response solver that solves the matrix eigenvalue problem once with cost proportional to the cube of mode count, reducing per-frequency cost to the square of mode count. Works in combination with CDH/AMLS for high-frequency NVH problems. Sold to automotive and industrial CAE engineering groups.
• CDH/AutoSPOT Automated spot weld and adhesive modeling pre-processor that creates spot weld FE models from position coordinates and welding parameters, with visual interface for detecting weld defects. Supports spot welds, seam welds, glue adhesion, and mastic joints in VDA format. Sold to automotive crash and structural CAE teams.
• CDH/VAO Integrated vibration and acoustic analysis design optimization environment for large-scale structural dynamics. Uses the AMC (Adaptive Modal Correlation) method to reduce computation by 1/25 to 1/120 versus traditional modal analysis, and integrates MATLAB numerical solvers. Sold to automotive NVH engineering teams.
• CDH/OPTRAN NVH post-processing automation tool that batch-processes frequency response functions, operating deflection shapes, mode shapes, and panel contribution rates for large FE models with multiple load cases. Integrates with CDH/AMLS and CDH/FastFRS. Sold to automotive NVH engineering groups.
• CDH/RADOPT Noise radiation design optimization software combining boundary element method (BEM) with finite element method (FEM) to minimize radiated noise from vibrating structures. Uses the ATV (Acoustic Transfer Vector) concept computed via CDH/BEM solver, then integrates with Nastran or CDH/VAO for structural optimization. Sold to NVH and acoustic engineering groups.
• CDH/TPA Virtual Transfer Path Analysis (TPA) tool for evaluating and ranking the noise and vibration contribution of individual structural transfer paths. Operates on Nastran Punch-format force and transfer function data and supports both GUI and batch modes. Sold to NVH engineering departments.
• CDH/ACE Innovative CAE assistance framework fusing physics-based modeling (Nastran, CDH/OPTRAN, OptiStruct solvers) with data-driven machine learning. Automates CAE workflows through self-learning and self-correcting iterative cycles, enabling automated DOE, parameter optimization, sensitivity analysis, robustness evaluation, and Python-based customization. Targets NVH challenges and is applicable across engineering disciplines.
• GNS Animator Ultra-fast FEA post-processor for animation and analysis of large-scale finite element models. Supports LS-DYNA, PAM-CRASH, RADIOSS, Nastran, Abaqus, and MADYMO. Can handle 10M+ node models with 3D benchmark performance. Includes FEA/crash test video correlation, complex safety analysis algorithms (HIC, VC values), and SAE/CFC filter application. Sold to automotive crash safety engineering teams.
• GNS Generator FEM pre-processor for crash safety analysis supporting PAM-CRASH, RADIOSS, LS-DYNA, and Abaqus models. Provides dummy and impactor positioning, FMVSS201-compliant head impact point calculation, dashboard pendulum positioning, seatbelt creation, CAD data import, and high-performance mesh generation. Sold to automotive crash safety CAE teams.
• GNS Crash Barrier FE Models A line of validated crash test barrier FE models for automotive safety certification, including MPDB (Euro NCAP 2020 / C-NCAP 2022), ODB (ECE R94), AC-MDB (C-NCAP), AE-MDB, Advanced 2000 (ECE R-95), MDB, IIHS 2.0, FWDB, NHTSA OMDB, and SC-MDB. Sold to automotive crash testing CAE groups.
• SimCompare Event detection plug-in tool developed by Fraunhofer SCAI that compares two similar crash simulation results (displacement, plastic strain, thickness, time steps) to detect anomalies and deviations using ML-based pattern recognition, highlighting most-affected parts and generating PDF reports. Sold to automotive crash simulation teams.
• ModelCompare FEM model comparison plug-in tool developed by Fraunhofer SCAI that identifies differences in mesh geometry, material IDs, and plate thickness between two FE models. Detects shape changes, duplicate parts, added/removed parts, spot weld and RBE differences, and adhesive changes. Sold to automotive CAE teams.
• SimExplore CAE efficiency tool developed by Fraunhofer SCAI that uses ML approaches (dimensionality reduction, automated cluster identification, outlier detection) to analyze existing CAE simulation databases and identify most-impacted parts without requiring new simulation data. Sold to automotive CAE teams.
• SIDACT FEMZIP Lossy compression software for FE binary result data from major solvers (MSC Nastran, Simcenter Nastran, ESI PAM-CRASH, LS-DYNA, RADIOSS). Reduces crash analysis result file sizes to approximately 1/10 of original. Integrates with GNS Animator, ESI Visual Environment, LS-Prepost, Altair HyperView/HyperGraph, BETA CAE Systems META, and Oasys D3PLOT. Sold to automotive crash and NVH teams.
• ATD Hybrid III Dummy FE Models (H350, H305, H395) Family of high-precision finite element dummy models based on the Hybrid III hardware (H350 50th percentile male, H305 5th percentile female, H395 95th percentile large male) for crash safety analysis. Features pre-stressed chest and bumper joints with CT scan-derived jacket geometry. Sold to automotive crash safety CAE teams.
• ATD THOR Dummy FE Models Family of THOR 50th percentile adult male crash dummy FE models (THOR50M US, THOR50M EU, THOR50RS reclining, TH50 C-NCAP braking-phase, TH05F 5%ile female) for US NCAP, Euro NCAP MPDB, C-NCAP, and autonomous driving research. Sold to automotive crash safety CAE teams.
• ATD Pedestrian Legform Impactor FE Models (aPLI, fPLI) Pedestrian legform impactor FE models: ATD-aPLI (Advanced Pedestrian Legform Impactor, Euro NCAP approved) and ATD-fPLI (Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor, UNECE R127 compliant). Usable in Abaqus, LS-DYNA, and PAM-CRASH. Sold to automotive pedestrian safety CAE teams.
• ATD H-Point Manikin FE Model SAE J826-compliant H-Point Manikin FE model with faithful mass distribution and geometry that enables virtual measurement of H-point, torso angle, and backset for seat setting and dummy posture verification in whiplash testing. Available in HPM and HRMD (Head Restraint Measurement Device) specifications. Sold to automotive seating and restraint CAE teams.
• ATD-M350 Motorcyclist Hybrid III Dummy FE Model Two-wheeler occupant Hybrid III 50th percentile adult male FE dummy model developed from ATD-H350 and validated against ISO 13232-3:2005 for motorcycle rider protection. Modified for articulation and positioning required for two-wheeler occupant seating. Supports LS-DYNA and Abaqus. Sold to motorcycle safety and automotive CAE teams.
• CELLBOND-PHITEC Q-Dummy Child Occupant FE Model Series Child occupant crash dummy FE model series (Q0, Q1, Q1.5, Q3, Q6, Q10) based on Cellbond-Phitec hardware, each representing the 50th percentile of a specific child age group. Used in Euro NCAP child seat safety testing and ECE R129 child seat evaluation, with optional APTS (Abdominal Pressure Measurement) for C-NCAP 2021. Sold to automotive child occupant safety CAE teams.
• Automotive CAE Engineering Services Specialist CAE engineering services for automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers covering vehicle safety (crash simulation), vehicle comfort (NVH analysis), system-level analysis, minimum weight design, and FE modeling. Billed as project-based or retainer engagements with strategic virtual development partnerships.
• Marine and Shipbuilding Engineering Services Marine engineering services for ship structures, offshore fixed and mobile units, vibration surveys, noise investigations, and maritime consulting including damage surveys, insurance investigations, and collision analysis. Sold to shipbuilders, offshore operators, classification societies, and insurance companies.
• Commercial Vehicle Engineering Services Engineering services for commercial vehicle manufacturers focused on NVH analysis for commercial vehicle cabins, chassis vibration, powertrain noise, and structural optimization with emphasis on robustness, durability, and fatigue resistance for high load capacity and long operating hours. Sold to truck, van, and commercial vehicle OEMs.
• General Engineering Services General mechanical engineering services covering FEM analysis for railway components, engine and transmission design, specialized storage structures, and multi-physics coupled analysis (structural stress, fatigue, fracture mechanics, thermal load, acoustic emission, vibration). Sold to industrial manufacturers across multiple sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• CDH/AMLS reduces eigenvalue analysis CPU time to 1/3 to 1/10 of standard computation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• Elemance, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2026Strategic partnership between Elemance, LLC and CDH AG for the GHBMC (Global Human Body Models Consortium) virtual human body models. Elemance serves as the exclusive global licensing agent for GHBMC models, while CDH AG's regional sales network and local-language technical support enables easier adoption in Europe and Japan. CDH-Japan provides the same level of support as CDH AG to Japanese customers.
• CDH AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDH AG (parent company, headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany) is the parent organization of Japan CDH. Founded in 1990 by three FEM experts, CDH AG provides advanced CAE technology services and analysis software developed in Germany. Japan CDH operates as the Japanese subsidiary (100% owned by CDH AG), distributing CDH AG's software and engineering services in Japan.
• GNS mbH (Germany)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDH holds marketing, sales, and support rights for GNS Software products (Animator and Generator) across North America, Europe, and Asia since 1998. GNS develops high-quality FE software for vehicle safety analysis. CDH also distributes GNS crash barrier models including MPDB, ODB, MDB, IIHS 2.0, FWDB, SC-MDB, AC-MDB, AE-MDB, and Advanced 2000.
• ATD-MODELS GmbH (Germany)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDH holds marketing, sales, and support rights for ATD-MODELS FE dummy models across North America and Japan since 2017. Products include Hybrid III dummy models (H350, H305, H395), THOR dummy models, H-Point Manikin, and pedestrian legform impactors (aPLI, fPLI). Also distributes ATD-M350 motorcyclist dummy model.
• Cellbond Ltd. (UK) / Phitec Ingegneria (Italy)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDH holds marketing and sales rights for Cellbond-Phitec Q-dummy FE models (Q0, Q1, Q1.5, Q3, Q6, Q10) in Japan since 2020. The Q-dummy series models children of various ages for Euro NCAP child occupant protection testing. Developed jointly by Cellbond (UK crash dummy manufacturer) and Phitec Ingegneria (Italy, FE specialists).
• Fraunhofer SCAI (Germany)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDH holds marketing, sales, and support rights for Fraunhofer SCAI's SimCompare, ModelCompare, and SimExplore tools in North America and Japan. SimCompare detects events/anomalies in crash simulation results using ML. ModelCompare compares FE models. SimExplore uses ML for clustering and outlier detection in CAE data.
• SIDACT GmbH (Germany)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDH distributes SIDACT FEMZIP software for lossy compression of FEM binary result data from major solvers (MSC Nastran, Simcenter Nastran, ESI PAM-CRASH, LS-DYNA, RADIOSS). FEMZIP-P targets crash analysis, FEMZIP-N targets NVH analysis. Compression ratios of approximately 10:1 enable significant storage, transfer, and loading time reductions.
• IAT Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. (China)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIAT Automobile Technology is an authorized distributor for CDH products in China, located in Beijing's Yizhuang BDA Industrial Park.
• CEDIC Co., Ltd. (South Korea)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCEDIC Co., Ltd. is an authorized distributor for CDH products in South Korea, located in Seoul.
• Hantool Engineering Co. (South Korea)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHantool Engineering Co. is an authorized distributor for CDH products in South Korea, located in Bundang, Seongnam.
• GNS Engineering India Private Limited (India)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGNS Engineering India Private Limited is an authorized distributor for CDH products in India, located in Pune.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• JSOL Corporation: JSOL is a Japanese CAE/simulation software and services firm (JMAG for electromagnetic design, structural/safety analysis services) that serves the same Japanese OEM base as CDH-Japan and competes locally for CAE seat spend and engineering services work.
• IDAJ Co., Ltd. IDAJ is the Japanese distributor of Altair HyperWorks, Abaqus, Fluent, and other CAE tools, providing Japanese-language support, training, and engineering services to automotive OEMs — overlapping CDH-Japan's go-to-market model and customer set.

Direct peers

• ESI Group: ESI delivers PAM-CRASH, Visual-Environment, and Virtual Performance Solution for crash, occupant safety, and manufacturing process simulation. Directly competes with CDH on automotive crash CAE and integrates with the same LS-DYNA-based ecosystems.
• Oasys (Autodesk): Oasys — now part of Autodesk — provides PRIMER as a leading crash-safety pre-processor for LS-DYNA, used to position dummies, barriers, and seatbelt models in the same automotive occupant-safety workflows where CDH distributes GNS Generator and ATD-MODELS.
• Altair Engineering: Altair provides the HyperWorks CAE suite — including OptiStruct (structural optimization / NVH), HyperMesh, and MotionSolve — for automotive OEM crash, NVH, and structural workflows. Directly competes with CDH's solver-integrated NVH/crash tooling in the same Japanese OEMs.
• BETA CAE Systems: BETA CAE's ANSA (pre-processor) and META (post-processor) are widely deployed alongside PAM-CRASH, LS-DYNA, and Abaqus for crash and NVH at global OEMs. Sits in the same 'pre/post tooling layered on top of commercial solvers' niche as GNS Animator/Generator distributed by CDH-Japan.

Broad incumbents

• ANSYS: Ansys is a broad CAE incumbent following its LS-DYNA acquisition; its Mechanical, LS-DYNA, and Fluent/Ansys Sound suites span the same crash, NVH, and acoustic workflows as CDH's integrated AMLS+FastFRS+VAO+RADOPT pipeline across Japanese OEMs.
• Dassault Systèmes: Dassault's 3DEXPERIENCE platform integrates Abaqus for structural FEA and SIMULIA for crash simulation — positioning it in the same automotive crash/structural CAE domain as CDH-Japan at the same Japanese OEMs.
• Siemens Digital Industries Software: Siemens offers the Simcenter portfolio (Simcenter Nastran, Simcenter 3D, Simcenter Sound, STAR-CCM+) for automotive structural, NVH, and CFD simulation. As a broad incumbent, it competes for the same OEM CAE seat budgets as CDH and its distributed solver ecosystem.
• Hexagon (MSC Software): Hexagon's MSC Software division provides MSC Nastran, Adams (MBD), and Marc that serve as primary solvers CDH/AMLS, CDH/OPTRAN, and CDH/VAO integrate with. Competitively and commercially significant since MSC Nastran is the central engine behind much of CDH's NVH pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cddhag5440/videos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CDH-Japan