How do you actually reach decision-makers in industrial plants for exports?

We’re an OEM manufacturer of temperature sensors from India, trying to grow our export business.

Our end users are typically cement plants, tyre plants, and similar industrial facilities.

The problem we’re running into:

Finding company names isn’t hard. There are plenty of directories, trade data, Google, etc.

What’s hard is:

• Figuring out which plants are actually relevant buyers
• Knowing if they’re actively sourcing products like ours
• Reaching the right person (maintenance / engineering / procurement)
• Avoiding distributors and middlemen

Most of what we try (cold emails, LinkedIn, databases) feels like a hit-or-miss game.

For people who’ve done B2B industrial exports:

What has actually worked for you to connect with plant-level decision-makers in other countries?

Any specific strategies, tools, or even unconventional approaches that worked?

Looking for real experiences, not generic advice.