SMEG was founded in 1948 by Vittorio Bertazzoni, Sr. from Guastalla, a town near the city of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy, and is today one of the country's leading home appliance manufacturers. Initally focusing on the enameling of metals, SMEG anticipated the so-called "Italian Economic Miracle" of the 1950s and 1960s, and the desire for home comforts that increased affluence would bring, beginning to specialize in home appliance manufacturing just a few years after its founding. Today, SMEG is run by the third generation of Bertazzoni entrepreneurs, but it still keeps the memory of its beginnings alive in its Italian name: "Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla," or the "Guastalla Emilia Enamel Works."