The SESPA tenders an automated ironing and folding system for Cabueñes

The Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (SESPA) has delegated to the Management of Health Area III Oriente the authority to contract the supply, installation, and commissioning of an integrated automated ironing and folding system for hospital linens destined for the laundry of the Cabueñes University Hospital. The operation amounts to 828,000 euros including VAT and is formalized through the Resolution of November 4, 2026, of the SESPA Management Directorate, published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) No. 217, of November 10, 2026, with official reference 2026-09166.

The resolution, framed within section I of the gazette under the heading of Other Provisions and submitted by the Ministry of Health, does not announce the tender itself, but rather enables the managing body of the health area to act as the contracting authority. The text justifies the decision based on “the complexity and scope of the procedure as well as its monitoring,” reasons why it is considered advisable for the territorial management, and not the central directorate, to lead the file.

A budget of 828,000 euros with advance processing

The file starts from a base tender budget of 684,297.52 euros excluding VAT, to which 143,702.48 euros are added as 21% VAT, totaling 828,000.00 euros tax included. The resolution further details the economic and administrative conditions of the contract:

• Budget without VAT: 684,297.52 euros.
• VAT (21%): 143,702.48 euros.
• Total amount with VAT: 828,000.00 euros.
• Execution period: 150 calendar days.
• Processing: advance, with award conditioned on the existence of adequate and sufficient credit.

This last condition is supported by Article 30 of the Legislative Decree of the Principality of Asturias 2/1998, of June 25, which approves the consolidated text of the Economic and Budgetary Regime. In practice, the contract may be awarded, but its effectiveness is subject to the resulting obligations having sufficient budgetary allocation.

Supply, installation, training, and removal of old machinery

The object of the contract is not limited to the purchase of equipment. It encompasses a set of services that the resolution expressly lists and which condition the profile of the bidders, oriented toward industrial laundry and hospital machinery integrators:

• Supply of the integrated automated ironing and folding system.
• Installation and commissioning.
• Training of the user personnel.
• Software associated with the system.
• Deinstallation and removal of the machinery it replaces.

The destination is the laundry of the Cabueñes University Hospital, a reference center for the Health Area III East of the SESPA, in Gijón. The incorporation of an automated ironing and folding system impacts the hospital linen circuit, a labor-intensive process with traceability and hygiene requirements.

The 750,000 euro threshold and the authorization of the Governing Council

The delegation is based on the Principality of Asturias Law 7/2019, of March 29, on Health, whose article 128.2 i) assigns the General Management the status of contracting body of the SESPA, while article 128.5 allows the General Manager to delegate their powers to area managements and center directorates. The framework is completed by article 9 of Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, which requires the publication of delegations in the corresponding official bulletin.

The text introduces, however, a relevant caveat: the delegation is granted “without prejudice” to the provisions of article 4 i) of the same regional law, which reserves for the Governing Council the authorization of SESPA investment expenditures exceeding 750,000 euros. Since the contract reaches 828,000 euros including VAT, the operation exceeds that threshold and will require the approval of the regional Executive in addition to the ordinary processing.

Impact for the laundry and the industrial sector

The resolution concludes by ordering its publication in the BOPA and is signed in Oviedo on November 4, 2026, by the General Manager of the organization, although the text does not nominally identify the signatory. The contract is of interest to the Asturian industrial laundry sector, which will have a period of 150 calendar days to execute the installation once awarded, and to the hospital users, who depend on the center’s linen processing capacity. The combination of technological renewal, staff training, and removal of old equipment turns the file into a comprehensive operation rather than a simple purchase of machinery.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Principality of Asturias, no. 217 of November 10, 2026, section I (Other Provisions), pages 1-2 (official reference: 2026-09166).