Takenaka Corporation, one of Japan’s oldest construction companies, now runs ARES CAD software on more than 8,600 installations across the company. It started with ARES Commander in 2019, rolled it out company-wide in 2021, and added the cloud solution ARES Trinity in 2024.
This case study explains why Takenaka chose ARES, what problems it solved, and what other construction and engineering firms can learn from the move.
Quick facts
- Company: Takenaka Corporation, founded in 1610
- Software: ARES Commander (desktop CAD), ARES Trinity (cloud CAD and collaboration), ARES Kudo (browser-based CAD)
- Timeline: ARES Commander in 2019, company-wide rollout in 2021, ARES Trinity in 2024
- Scale: more than 8,600 ARES installations by 2025
- Main reasons: full DWG compatibility, lower CAD costs, a smooth 2D tool next to BIM, and better version control
See how ARES Commander, ARES Trinity and ARES Kudo could work for your team. Start the 30-day free trial at graebert.com and work with your DWG files in a CAD tool built around full DWG compatibility.
Who is Takenaka Corporation?
Takenaka Corporation is a Japanese construction company founded in 1610. With more than 400 years of craftsmanship and innovation behind it, the company is now speeding up its digital transformation, with a focus on cloud-based workflows and CAD integration.
Takenaka wants to address social issues such as rapid environmental change, a sharp decline in the construction workforce, and new ways of working. In 2021 it introduced its “Construction Digital Platform”. All data from construction processes, including project operations and human resources, is now collected centrally. It forms the base for advanced use of AI and other technologies.
As part of this effort, Takenaka moved the storage and management of its drawing data from in-house file servers to cloud storage. This keeps the data secure and gives authorized people access to drawings and other project data at any time, from anywhere.
Watch the full customer story: 8600 AutoCAD Users Migrated to ARES CAD Software at Takenaka – Customer Review on the Graebert YouTube channel.
Why did Takenaka choose ARES Commander?
Takenaka chose ARES Commander because it needed a fully DWG-compatible 2D CAD tool that works smoothly alongside BIM. At the time, the company was promoting BIM across the whole organization. The shift from familiar 2D CAD to BIM was slow, so Takenaka looked for a new 2D tool that would keep daily work running without friction.
ARES Commander is CAD software for desktop computers. Its full DWG compatibility meant that Takenaka’s teams could keep working with the drawing format they already used. Takenaka started implementing ARES Commander in 2019.
How ARES cut CAD costs while Takenaka expanded BIM
Takenaka rolled out ARES across the company in 2021 to cut 2D CAD costs and move investment toward BIM at the right time. The CAD software it had used until then kept rising in price year after year.
ARES is cost-effective and offers all the DWG-compatible features Takenaka needs. The company concluded that quality would not suffer, even with lower costs than its previous software, and that it could still test drawings effectively.
Today Takenaka has deployed ARES Commander across the company, with 8,600 installations on PCs.
Why Takenaka added ARES Trinity for cloud collaboration
In 2024, Takenaka added ARES Trinity, Graebert’s cloud solution, to fix version control problems on large-scale projects. ARES Trinity combines three CAD applications with cloud-based collaboration features.
When many people edited drawings in cloud storage, version control became complicated. ARES Trinity handles version control and other collaboration features well, so Takenaka decided to adopt it. Version control of drawings is now much smoother.
Takenaka now sees a clear path to solving the challenges of large-scale operations. It also reports that requests from CAD operators are handled flexibly, and it hopes the software stays easy to use and valuable for CAD users.
ARES Kudo and the future of construction
ARES Kudo is a browser-based online CAD solution, and it also serves as the core of ARES Trinity’s collaboration technology. Together, ARES Commander on the desktop, ARES Kudo in the browser and the cloud features of ARES Trinity let teams work on the same drawings from different devices.
Takenaka says the social issues it faces cannot be solved by one company alone. It aims to share effective measures with stakeholders and to work with the wider construction industry to solve them.
What other construction firms can learn from Takenaka
- Keep DWG. Full DWG compatibility let Takenaka change CAD software without changing its drawing format.
- Pair 2D with BIM. A reliable 2D tool keeps daily work smooth while the company moves toward BIM.
- Plan for cost. Takenaka moved away from software that rose in price every year and put the savings toward BIM.
- Fix version control early. Once many people edit drawings in cloud storage, versions get messy. Built-in collaboration solves this.
- Roll out in stages. Takenaka went from the first ARES Commander installations in 2019 to company-wide use in 2021, then to ARES Trinity in 2024.
Frequently asked questions
Which company moved 8,600 CAD users to ARES?
Takenaka Corporation, a Japanese construction company founded in 1610, has more than 8,600 ARES installations across the company.
Why did Takenaka choose ARES Commander?
Takenaka needed a fully DWG-compatible 2D CAD tool to work alongside BIM, and it wanted to lower 2D CAD costs. Its previous CAD software kept getting more expensive each year.
Is ARES Commander compatible with DWG files?
Yes. ARES Commander is fully DWG compatible, which was a main reason Takenaka selected it.
When did Takenaka start using ARES?
Takenaka began implementing ARES Commander in 2019, expanded it across the company in 2021, and adopted ARES Trinity in 2024.
What problem does ARES Trinity solve?
ARES Trinity handles version control and collaboration when many people edit drawings in cloud storage. Takenaka adopted it to solve version control problems on large-scale projects.
What is ARES Kudo?
ARES Kudo is a browser-based online CAD solution. It is also the core of the collaboration technology in ARES Trinity.
Is there a free trial of ARES?
Yes. ARES offers a 30-day free trial.
Try ARES Commander CAD Software yourself
See how ARES Commander, ARES Trinity and ARES Kudo could work for your team. Start the 30-day free trial at graebert.com and work with your DWG files in a CAD tool built around full DWG compatibility.