Schunk Group

Schunk Group is a global industrial manufacturing technology leader headquartered in Heuchelheim, Hesse, Germany, with 10,000–15,000 employees. The company has over 9,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $1.5 billion, producing highly technical content across ceramics, environmental simulation, carbon, and ultrasonic metal welding.

Challenge

Schunk's content team had invested heavily in technical thought leadership assets — product whitepapers, application guides, material selection resources, and in-depth engineering case studies such as "Technical Ceramics for Extreme Conditions," "Graphite Solutions for Semiconductor Tooling," and "Custom Solutions for EV Battery Production."

But even with this rich library, their new lead performance plateaued. Paid ad campaigns were underperforming and expensive, and internal cold outreach lacked the scale and targeting accuracy they needed to reach technical buyers in niche verticals like aerospace, semiconductor manufacturing, medical device production, and mobility engineering.

What LeadSpot did

Schunk began with a 30-day pilot content syndication program to test lead generation quality, distributing two high-performing gated assets across three targeted, opt-in syndication networks: Engineering360 (operated by IEEE GlobalSpec), Ceramics Network Europe, and Industrial Heating Expert Hub.

Each lead had to opt in, complete a gated form (job title, company, location, email), and answer two custom qualifying questions. Every lead underwent dual verification via bot detection software and manual human validation.

The pilot delivered 100 Human-Qualified Leads (HQLs) within 30 days, a 99% ICP match rate, 26% of leads from Schunk's "dream account" list, and 1 immediate opportunity from a Tier 1 EV manufacturer.

Proven by the pilot, Schunk expanded into a 6-month agreement: 300 HQLs/month delivered weekly at an $85 Cost Per Lead, evenly distributed across ICP roles like Product Engineering Directors, Process Development Leads, Materials Engineers, and Procurement Managers.

Results

• 16% HQL-to-SQL conversion rate over six months
• 15 qualified opportunities created, averaging seven-figure deal sizes
• 3 active proposals as of the six-month mark, each valued around $750,000
• Estimated 22x ROI assuming even 1 closed deal from current pipeline
• $85 CPL

Why it worked

LeadSpot's exclusive opt-in network delivered content directly to niche, hard-to-reach verticals like ceramic process engineering, medical device OEMs, and cleanroom manufacturing. Schunk's highly technical content thrived in education-first lead generation, and syndicated ABM programs ensured Tier 1 accounts were prioritized with minimal waste. Each lead was 100% verified and fully transparent, and LeadSpot replaced any lead that failed Schunk's quality standards. Schunk's teams cited a "major increase in meaningful early-stage conversations."