Exploring our principal partnership with Maaden

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a big weekend for Maaden, principal partner of Aston Martin Aramco.

Not only was Jeddah the first home race for Maaden since we joined forces last October, but it also followed the recent launch of our joint Unearth Your Greatness campaign, which aims to celebrate the greatness that comes from the dedication to craft – both within the world of Formula One and within the mining industry.

For Maaden CEO Bob Wilt, the Aston Martin partnership is a key element of the company's expansion plans as it grows its role as the third pillar of Saudi Arabia’s economy – alongside oil and gas, and petrochemicals.

"When I started at Maaden three or so years ago there were a lot of things about the company that needed transforming to live up to the board and the country's expectations," he explains.

"The Crown Prince had announced Vision 2030, and he wanted to make mining the third pillar of the industrial economy.

"So when I got there, I started focusing on the top 10 priorities. A lot of them were the normal things, such as cash management, operational excellence, safety, people and talent.

"And one of them was image. We're the fastest growing mining company in the world, and the latest results show that globally we're the seventh most valuable mining company in the world. But nobody had ever heard of us!

"In order to achieve the Kingdom's aspirations for the company on a regional scale and a global scale, we needed to enhance our image.

"And so we started looking at sports as the best mechanism to do that, and the best vehicle to reach a global audience. And we narrowed it down to F1."

We talked to a variety of teams but we kept coming back to Aston Martin Aramco and Lawrence Stroll.

So why did Maaden opt for F1 over other potential sporting opportunities?

"Part of it is the technology aspect," says Wilt. "We need to change the image, not only of the company, but also the industry. And if you think about mining, you don't think about technology.

"But we will never deliver what we need to deliver in terms of the critical minerals for the world without doing things significantly differently.

"And that's why we really see a nice tie-in with the technology aspect of F1 and the speed, and I mean the speed and the pace by which both the country and the company are changing. It fits nicely."

While Aston Martin's title partnership with Aramco means that the team has established Saudi Arabian connections, Maaden chose the team on merit.

"We talked to a variety of teams," says Wilt. "And we had the best fit with Aston, both in terms of values and aspiration. They're growing into a championship team; we're growing into a mining champion globally. We kept coming back to Aston Martin Aramco and Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll.

"He makes you believe in the vision. And I believe in the vision. Everything Lawrence has said was going to happen as we were in the courtship phase last year has happened.

"He said, 'Bob, this is what we're going to do with the wind tunnel, this is what we're going to do with Adrian Newey.' It's all come true, and you just see it all coming together.

"I think we're well aligned on our aspirations, and he's great to work with. He's a special guy."

F1's worldwide audience has obvious appeal for Maaden as it raises awareness of the brand, with many races in key customer locations.

"We sell phosphate fertilisers, aluminium, gold and copper to 55 different countries," says Wilt. "So we're global already – every continent on the map is covered by Maaden products somewhere.

"To reach that customer base we need to be better positioned. We're also attracting partners in a lot of the things we're doing as we explore the Kingdom for natural resources. We've got the world's largest exploration programme going on right now.

"We can't do that ourselves, so we're attracting Canadians, Australians, Americans. And we're looking for partners, and we'll be entertaining partners and customers at races throughout the year."

I want people to understand that if you come to Maaden you're going to work for a company that's destined for greatness.

A key element of Maaden's F1 involvement is not just reaching out to potential customers, but also to current and future employees.

Maaden has a headcount of over 7,000, but that will grow substantially in the coming years. That's where the Unearth Your Greatness campaign will play a significant role.

"I think the one of my biggest challenges is going to be the workforce," says Wilt. "We will need to double the size over the next decade, and so I've got to attract not just mining engineers, geophysicists, data scientists and drone pilots, but also a variety of non-traditional roles.

"I want people to understand that if you come to Maaden you're going to work in a high-tech environment, you're going to work for a company that's destined for greatness. And I want people to get a feeling for it, so that it's something they can latch on to.

"And as we launch Unearth Your Greatness campaign it's, 'Guys, we have a global brand, and now we have a global presence. We have to live up to it.' So it's really an inspirational motivation for the current employee base and the future employees."

Wilt says F1 will help to make Maaden a more appealing home not just for potential recruits from overseas, but also for locals, given the stiff competition for homegrown talent.

"We're about 20 per cent international in our workforce right now," he notes. "As the workforce grows, it'll still be predominantly a Saudi workforce. But there's such a war for Saudi talent as the Kingdom grows.

"You've got Aramco, you've got new portfolio companies for the PIF [Public Investment Fund], the tourism industry, sports and entertainment, hospitality. The Kingdom is booming, so young Saudis have a variety of choices of where to go to work."

Unearth Your Greatness will also help to forge closer bonds between Maaden and Aston Martin.

"Most of our mines have fleets of 60 huge trucks. It's different than the F1 car, but autonomous control is the same, and the data sensing is the same. Safety is also huge value for us. What the team is doing in the garage in the area of safety procedures, we can take good ideas.

"We're going to do internships, we're going to do technology transfer. We'll be doing a lot of social media presence in channel marketing with the team, and with other social media influencers. Nobody's really going to click on Maaden, but they'll click on F1 and Aston Martin Aramco, and then learn about Maaden."

Although the relationship only began in October, Wilt says that a positive impact is already being measured.

"I was looking at the numbers this week. We're very pleased with before and after we launched. We're piggybacking off the brand legacy of Aston Martin, and the excitement of the sport.

"We're definitely feeling it and seeing it, and with our employees, with our partners, with our customers, there's a lot more awareness of what we're doing. People are starting to take notice. It's, 'Wait a minute, this Saudi Arabian mining company is going someplace. They're actually making mining cool again!'"