'Was this written by AI for real?' 133 qualified leads and 30 countries later.
How Europe's largest marine fenders manufacturer built a €4M+ qualified pipeline across 30+ countries, without adding a single person to the sales team.
The Company
Bencros manufactures high-performance marine fenders from both rubber and polyurethane at their production facility in Slovakia, at the centre of the European Union. The company has produced over 300,000 rubber products since 2010 from BCN Cone fenders for mega-vessel berths to custom cylindrical fenders for tug fleets.
The Challenge
Bencros faced several key challenges:
Growth was entirely driven by trade fairs (SMM Hamburg, METS Trade, International WorkBoat Show) and word-of-mouth referrals. Between events, the pipeline went quiet.
Zero outbound sales infrastructure. No systematic way to reach procurement managers, port engineers, or fleet maintenance teams outside of event schedules.
The maritime industry is notoriously difficult to penetrate via cold outreach. Buyers are technical, skeptical of unsolicited emails, and spread across dozens of niche segments globally.
Competitors in Asia were undercutting on price with 12-16 week delivery. Bencros needed to reach the buyers who valued European quality and speed, but had no way to find them at scale.
What papaverAI Did
Here is how we approached it:
ICP crystallization across maritime segments
Defined distinct buyer segments: tug operators, port authorities, shipyards (newbuild + repair), fleet maintenance teams, offshore support vessel operators, and marine equipment distributors. Each with tailored messaging angles.
Thousands of prospects sourced and validated
Built a proprietary prospect database from scratch by cross-referencing port registries, vessel databases, trade show attendee lists, and industry directories. Each contact went through multi-step waterfall validation, enrichment with company-level intelligence, and ICP scoring before a single email was sent.
Hyper-personalized, research-grade outreach
Every email was individually crafted. When emailing a port authority in Turkey, we referenced their specific expansion project. When reaching a Norwegian tug operator, we referenced their fleet specs and Arctic conditions. No templates, no generic pitches.
Enterprise-grade email infrastructure
Full SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication across all sending infrastructure, with 7 months of consistent sender reputation building to ensure maximum deliverability.
Continuous optimization
Campaign reply rates improved from 3.7% to 5.3-6.8% over time through systematic A/B testing, ICP refinement, and response pattern analysis.
The Results
In 7 months, papaverAI generated 133 qualified commercial conversations across 30+ countries. These weren't just 'interested' replies. They included active RFQs with exact fender specifications, meeting requests from procurement directors, and referral chains that unlocked decision-makers no database search could have found.
Notable organizations that responded
Port Authorities & Terminals
- Major European container terminals
- Middle East mega-port projects
- South American port operators
- Nordic municipal harbors
- Southeast Asian container hubs
Shipyards & Builders
- Naval defense shipbuilders
- Cruise ship outfitters
- Superyacht builders
- Tug and workboat yards
- Ship repair and drydock facilities
Fleet Operators & Towage
- Global tug operators (200+ vessels)
- Offshore wind farm support fleets
- LNG carrier operators
- Marine equipment distributors
- Ship chandlers and spare parts suppliers
Engagement Reach
Our campaign reached decision-makers across 34 countries spanning Europe, Americas, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa.
Before & After
Marine fenders are something you sell at port visits, trade shows, shaking hands with harbour masters. That's how this industry has worked for decades. So when Burak's email landed in my inbox, my first reaction was skepticism. In fact, I was so surprised by how specific it was that I replied asking: 'Was your outreach an AI one?' I didn't think it could work for us but the approach was impressive enough that I decided to take the call.
Within weeks, our sales team was fielding requests from companies we'd never heard of. A fender RFQ from Texas, a port authority in Turkey sending us specifications, a Moroccan contractor adding us to their pre-approved supplier list. These weren't just leads, they were real commercial conversations in markets we hadn't even targeted yet. papaverAI opened doors across 20+ countries that no trade show could have reached in years.
Think cold email doesn't work in your industry?
That's exactly what Bencros said. Let us show you what happens when outbound is done with real research, not templates.
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