Smeg (appliances)

This article is about the Italian manufacturer of home appliances. For use of 'smeg' in the TV series Red Dwarf, see Red Dwarf § Hallmarks.

Smeg (Italian: Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla, lit. 'Emilian Guastalla Metallurgical Enamelling Works') is an Italian upmarket home appliance manufacturer.

Smeg Group S.p.A.

Company type	Private
Industry	Home appliances
Founded	1948 (1948) in Guastalla, Italy
Founder	Vittorio Bertazzoni
Headquarters	Guastalla, Italy
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Vittorio Bertazzoni, Roberto Bertazzoni, Vittorio Bertazzoni current Chairman
Revenue	€906 million (2021)
Number of employees	2,600 (2021)
Website	smeg.com

History

Founded in 1948 by Vittorio Bertazzoni as an enameling and metalworking company, the company preserves the memory of its original purpose and location (Guastalla, Reggio Emilia) in the name acronymised as Smeg, Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla ("Emilian Metallurgical Enamelling Works Guastalla").

During the 1950s the company’s metalworking background was accompanied by the production of its first cooking appliances. In 1956, the company presented "Elisabeth", one of the first gas cookers equipped with automatic ignition, a safety valve in the oven and a cooking programmer.

In the 1960s, Smeg introduced its first washing machine, the Leda, and then the large 60 cm Niagara dishwasher, with capacity for 14 place settings.

In 1971, the company began production of built-in hobs and ovens.

Other activities

Smeg started in the residential sector, and later entered the commercial market. Smeg Foodservice manufactures appliances for the hotel, restaurant and catering market, and Smeg Instruments supplies disinfection equipment to hospitals and dental surgeries.

Business

The design and manufacture of Smeg appliances is concentrated in four factories based in Northern Italy, each specialising in a specific type of appliance. Smeg has subsidiaries worldwide, overseas offices and an extensive sales network. Smeg has developed products in collaboration with architects and designers including Guido Canali (who also designed the company headquarters in Guastalla), Mario Bellini, Renzo Piano, Marc Newson and deepdesign.

Production takes place in 6 plants in Italy and China (Guastalla, Milan, Turin, Chieti and Bonferraro, Shenzhen).[1] The subsidiary SMEG Deutschland GmbH is active in Germany. SMEG is represented worldwide with 16 branches in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, South Africa, USA, Australia, Mozambique as well as two representative offices in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.

FAB 1950s-style appliances

Smeg refrigerators with a retro style.

In 1997, Smeg introduced refrigerators styled similarly to 1950s models, in several colours, with model names prefixed "FAB", and bearing the distinctive SMEG logo. The FAB line remained in production, with technically modern appliances with 1950s appearance. The FAB28 had deep curved doors and a large handle. Fridge-freezers were later introduced, with more colour options, and special editions such as a Union Jack door. In 2014 small domestic appliances such as toasters and kettles were added to the FAB 50s range.

Awards

• 2010: Good Design Award granted by the Chicago Athenaeum, Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies, for their FP610SG oven and the P755SBL hob from the innovative Newson product line.

See also

• List of Italian companies