SMG Languages
The history of SMG
Studio Moretto Group (also known as SMG Languages) is a multinational agency for language services and intercultural integration. It was founded in 1996 by professional interpreter Luca Moretto.
The first areas of expertise were translation and foreign language multimedia content management. Authoritative clients, including the European Union and some of the largest companies in the world, soon appreciated the quality of service. Subsequently, we extended our activity to other sectors, including event management and catering.
At SMG, we strive for excellence and engage in continuous linguistic research. We assist businesses and institutions by providing innovative content management, translation and communication services in over 160 languages.
Here are the most important events in our almost 30-year history:
- 1996: Luca Moretto founded Studio Moretto in Brescia
- 2001: Luca Moretto also founded the Language Research Institute (CRL) in Brescia
- 2007: establishment of Studio Moretto Group, the result of the merger between Studio Moretto and the CRL
- 2011: foundation of SMG America and, in the same year, offices were opened in Lima, Peru and Medellín, Colombia
- 2012: foundation of SMG UK with registered office in Truro and operational offices in Bristol
- 2014: the group expanded with the creation of a corporate division dedicated to event management and catering (SMG Meeting), based in Brescia
- 2016: establishment of SMG España with registered office and operational offices in Barcelona
- 2019: Studio Moretto Group acquired Studio Interpreti Milano (a historic Milan-based translation agency founded in 1990)
- 2023: the operational offices of SMG España relocated from Barcelona to Madrid. In the same year, SMG UK also moved from Bristol to London.
The SMG Languages companies:
SMG Languages, the parent company, is a multinational agency for language services and intercultural integration. It also carries out language research in collaboration with the CRL (Language Research Institute), which provides in-house language and administrative services to the group companies.
Studio Interpreti Milano is a historic Milan-based translation agency founded in 1990. It offers very high-end services with an exclusive positioning in the medium-high end of the market.
SMG UK Translations Ltd is the British branch of the group. Like the parent company, it offers language services, with an even higher level of specialisation for the English-speaking market. The registered office is in Truro and the operational offices are in London.
The group is completed by the Spanish branch SMG España, based in Madrid, SMG America, with offices in Lima (Peru) and Medellín (Colombia), and SMG Meeting, the event management and catering division—which has already secured various important public contracts, such as Expo 2015, Regione Veneto and Regione Lombardia—and includes the brands Moretto Catering, Stupor Mundi and StuporMundi Jazz Club.
Our Vision
‘Translating your words into a better future’
This is the motto of SMG Languages and clearly defines our Vision. Put simply, we want to break down language barriers by translating your words, ideas and content for a better future. For a world that embraces understanding and dialogue between different cultures. Language services are for people: they make communication possible between individuals who speak different languages and come from different cultures.
Our Mission
Consistent with our Vision, SMG places at the heart of its activity the need to respond to the evolutions of the global market. We follow a farsighted, socially conscious business policy that prioritises people over the logic of immediate gains.
SMG Languages aims to operate a socially sustainable, economically strategic business delivering excellent quality services through in-depth staff engagement, the company-wide improvement of its Quality Management and constant innovation in technology and work processes.
SMG implements policies of business growth and relations with stakeholders that guarantee harmonious, secure and therefore sustainable growth, thus ensuring:
- High-quality language services: thanks to our professional industry experts and rigorous process organisation.
- Innovative solutions: thanks to our international presence and cooperation with leading academic and research institutions.
- Service continuity: made possible by our highly sustainable economic model, providing the essential foundations for lasting relationships with clients.
Luca Moretto:
'Why I created a multinational company'
I trained as a linguist and ambition has always been my inseparable companion. It has never been my dream to have a traditional agency churning out barely adequate translations. I want my team to have broader horizons, like a horse with the bit between its teeth, where all the hard work becomes a reality. This is something I continue to create every day.
So, I began to share my idea of SMG with the world: a group of communication offices with permanent, local staff, highly motivated and part of a socially aware and highly productive work environment. We are factories of words and images, established where the foreign language is for us our mother tongue.
It was precisely how we started that has made us so successful. Founded as a translation agency in 1996, SMG continues to work with languages. When we take you and your business abroad, we translate your local idea into an international concept. We communicate it through the languages of the web, the media and the world of business. Today, SMG is a global provider of communication services.
And when you are riding that horse, with the bit between its teeth, the challenge becomes momentum and this mission becomes a wonderful dream. I have created a multinational company and I want it to be truly great!
Luca Moretto, Director of Studio Moretto Group
Linguistic research
SMG Languages conducts research in the fields of linguistics, terminology and the development of innovative work processes for the translation industry.
Quality and responsibility
Our translation services are guaranteed by a high level of specialisation and one of the most professional and advanced Quality Management Systems.
Corporate Social Responsibility
We operate with respect for local social contexts and are actively committed to their development.
Given the intellectual nature of the services we provide, the wellbeing of our personnel is an essential prerequisite for ensuring quality.
Equal opportunities
SMG operates in accordance with its internal equal opportunities policy, which is applied in all group offices.