Roberto Bertazzoni, the entrepreneur who founded Smeg (Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla) to become an international household appliance company, died in Parma. Under his leadership, the Reggio Emilia behemoth (founded by his father Vittorio in 1948 and now chaired by his son Vittorio), which manufactures washing machines, refrigerators, and cooking appliances, has grown to 2,600 employees, five factories in Italy, and a 900 million euro annual revenue. The entrepreneur, who was born in Guastalla in 1942 and lived in Parma, was named a Knight of the Republic in 1993 for his leadership of Smeg, which was "based on an entrepreneurial formula that combines managerial attention to quality, innovation, technology, and product style". Smeg and Bertazzoni began producing built-in ovens and hobs in 1971, which have served as the foundation for the company's success. In 1997, production began on Fab 28, a refrigerator with 1950s-style lines that has become a style icon and an internationally recognized status symbol.