Speaking to Autosport on Friday evening, Maaden CEO Bob Wilt asks for an honest answer to his own question – had this writer heard of the company before it linked up with Aston Martin last year?
The answer, as he predicted, was ‘no’. But it also explained just why Maaden was tempted to enter Formula 1 as a sponsor before today, 17 February, where it has become the first principal sponsor in the history of the Aston Martin team.
It elevates Maaden, the largest mining and metals company in the Middle East and the fastest growing in the world, and builds on the original partnership struck with Aston Martin in 2024.
“The reason we started looking at sports marketing, and we narrowed it down to F1, and then we started talking to specific teams and we went with Aston for a variety of reasons, is that we are the eighth most valuable mining company in the world, we own and operate assets in nine countries, we sell to 55 countries,” Wilt told Autosport after his own question had prompted a conversation about Maaden’s visibility.
“However, a lot of people haven't heard of us, and we actually are responsible for feeding about 10 percent of the world's population with our fertiliser production.
“So as we grow and expand the company, one of the top priorities we had as a management team was to enhance the image, because we've got to attract talent; we will probably need to double the size of our workforce in the next seven or eight years and triple it by 2040.
“If I'm going to recruit, and attract, and retain the best talent, I've got to have a brand that's worthy of it. That's aspirational, that's inspirational, that attracts people to want to learn more about us.”
The title of principal partner means Maaden will work on internships, technology transfers and collaborative campaigns – while its rebranded logo will feature prominently on the Aston Martin car from 2025 onwards.
“We’ve broken this down into three phases: ‘know us, understand us, and love us’. So, this first couple of months, first year or season or so, will probably just be ‘know us’,” added Wilt.
“We've laid out a pretty intense campaign of enhancing our image and making sure that our performance at the mines and the plants matches that.
“It's not just putting a sticker on a car, it's inspiring our workforce to unearth their greatness, to live up to the expectations of the race team - a high-tech, fast-moving, fast-paced industry, so it's going to be a lot of fun.”
As Aston Martin seeks on-track improvement, improving its portfolio of partners is another key strand to take the team forward, with managing director Jefferson Slack delighted to announce the elevated ties with Maaden.
“It's the first time we've ever had a principal partner, so we didn't take that lightly,” he told Autosport.
“I didn't realise what a large, successful company they are and what they're doing with the business is exactly what we're trying to do with our business - be a global leader, be innovative, do things differently.
“The fact is it is an enormous company; they dwarf Aston Martin in terms of the value of their business.
“Obviously the Aston Martin brand is a globally recognised, iconic, premium luxury brand, and that's really what Maaden is in its sector, which is a sector that's not very well understood.
“So it was really a natural fit and it's been fantastic. We put a lot of thought and effort into how we bring the two brands and two businesses together, but we couldn't be prouder to have them as our first ever principal partner.
“There will only be one principal partner and that's Maaden, so that's why it's called a principal partner, and that's why no one else has that designation. It will be reflected in everything we do, not just the outward stuff, but the inward stuff.”
