In southern Gran Canaria, where tourism is relentless and hotel complexes are nearly full year-round, a silent but vital cog in the wheel lies: industrial laundries. With demand that can exceed 11 tons of textiles per day during peak season, efficient management of this waste has become a major logistical and environmental challenge. A single 300-bed hotel can generate more than a ton of textile waste per year. It is in this context that Lavandería Mogán, managed by Santiago Hernández, has distinguished itself with a pioneering management system based on RFID technology.
Hernández, who began his career in 1988, combining his work as a local police officer with the beginnings of the laundry, remembers those times as difficult but exciting: “Everything was done by hand. We had to move the clothes from the washing machine to the centrifuge and then to the dryer. And the ironing, of course, was also manual.” Today, however, the reality is radically different. The garments come directly from the washing tunnel to an automated ironing system that, according to the entrepreneur, “does it 50% better than a person.” Furthermore, the process of unloading the trucks, which once took two hours, is now completed in just ten minutes.
The most significant technological leap came with the implementation of the RFID system, an innovation that allows each garment to be tracked from the moment it leaves the hotel until it returns clean. Hernández is clear: “It's the ultimate. The customer knows that what they send will be returned. There are no losses, and that generates trust.” This traceability has been possible thanks to the collaboration with Resuinsa, a pioneering firm in textile solutions for the hospitality industry. Thanks to this technology, Lavandería Mogán has improved its performance by around 20%.
The internal process leaves no stone unturned. Clothing is sorted by type and origin, thoroughly inspected for specific stains, and chemicals are automatically dosed based on the load's weight. "We've been working with an international company specializing in textile care for years, and the results are excellent," says Hernández. This level of care not only improves the durability of the fabrics but also helps reduce waste, a key aspect in an industry that is increasingly demanding sustainability.
The workload speaks for itself. While they initially washed around 200 kilos a day, they now exceed 9.000, serving some 25 hotels, as well as tourist apartments and restaurants. During peak season, this figure can climb to 11.000 kilos. Transparency is also an added value: "We receive a lot of wet clothes, which weigh more. That's why we invoice the clean kilos after the wash process, so the hotel knows exactly what they're paying," explains the manager.
Beyond the machinery, Hernández insists that the human factor remains key: “People are better than machines. That's why the entire team receives ongoing training, from how to operate the machinery to how to avoid injuries.” The next frontier, according to the head of Lavandería Mogán, is to bring part of the RFID system to the hotels themselves, using checkout booths that allow for accurate counting of the linen they deliver. “That way, the hotelier would also know whether a towel is still in the establishment or not. That would complete a perfect system.” In times where the circular economy and energy efficiency are setting the pace, the case of Lavandería Mogán demonstrates that even in traditional sectors like industrial cleaning, there is room for technological innovation. And all of this, from a corner of the Atlantic that has been converted into a sustainability laboratory.
