Looking for advice. Where did you find your first B2B clients in the timber / wood products industry?

I'm working with a company that supplies industrial timber and wood products internationally (mostly for industrial applications and packaging)

I'm currently reaching out through referrals and personalized emails, but I'm curious how others in this space landed their first customers

For those selling B2B products like timber, lumber, packaging materials, or other industrial commodities:

• Where did you find your first customers?
• Were there any communities, directories, trade associations, marketplaces, or events that worked particularly well?
• Did cold email actually work for you, or did referrals end up being the main driver?
• If you were starting from scratch today, what would you focus on first?

Any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated. Thxx