I was delighted to see that AGA has been voted Best Midlands Brand 2012 in a public poll organised as part of the IDEA Birmingham Design & Expo celebrations.

AGA Rangemaster Chief Executive William McGrath (right) accepts the award from Tim Pile, Chief Executive of Cogent Elliott, founder member of IDEA Birmingham

In the prestigious Birmingham Made Me awards – in which members of the public placed their votes online – AGA came out top in the quest to find the region’s most respected brand.

And the accolades didn’t end there – in the same poll, the fabulous AGA Total Control cooker was a runner-up in the award for Best Midlands Innovation and Radical Design.

The awards set out to bring about greater levels of collaboration between higher education and the design and manufacturing communities that have formed the backbone of the Midlands economy and AGA was placed first ahead of many other well-known brands, including Aston Martin, Cadbury, Codemasters, Ikon Gallery, Jaguar Cars, JCB, Marmite, Paul Smith, Poundland, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Birmingham Assay Office.

A big thank you to all those who voted.