# Renting commercial catering



## Dalma123 (Jun 25, 2014)

Hiya,

We are starting a business in Portugal and are looking to rent or buy a second hand walk in refrigeration unit (cold room) and a cold vehicle (van with temperature control)

I have been doing internet research but am not finding anything, please help

Thanks

Hannah


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Dalma123 said:


> Hiya,
> 
> We are starting a business in Portugal and are looking to rent or buy a second hand walk in refrigeration unit (cold room) and a cold vehicle (van with temperature control)


Best contact for Freezer/chiller Vehicles would be Alvaro Piadade in Vilamoura (they convert them and repair them and may know of a few for sale).

They do show up in the Portuguese press on a regular basis and feature on standvirtual.pt

Fridge unit depends if you want a chiller or a freezer. If Freezer and you want a couple of pallets worth of space then best to rent from a commercial Cold-store and there are plenty along the Algarve. Other option would be to buy a second hand Reefer and put it in a warehouse, insulate it even better with polystyrene, take off the diesel engine from the compressor and fit an electric motor instead. 

Good luck as its not easy here and you will also get visits and checks from various government folks along the way.

Got the T Shirt a few years ago for a similar project but solved most problems with the above knowledge


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## Dalma123 (Jun 25, 2014)

Thank you so much for your feedback!

Yes we want fridge units not freezers, do you happen to know any rental company names?

Any idea on the licence required for storing food stuff in a warehouse/garage? Nothing will be made on site, it's purely storage for delivery.


Much Appreciated!!


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Dalma123 said:


> Thank you so much for your feedback!
> 
> Yes we want fridge units not freezers, do you happen to know any rental company names?
> 
> ...



Doubt if you will find refrigerated transport to rent at any price, or certainly at an affordable price. 

Sounds like it could be good plan to buy a second hand vehicle with electric standby. You can plug it in to the mains at night and use it as storage.

If you want a separate cold room then they are always in the PT press and on sites like OLX they are modular so they come apart and are easy to move and set up. 

Make sure you get a reliable chiller unit and fit a temperature alarm that sends you an SMS before the contents get ruined.

Licence requirements - no idea now as they change all the time. Best to pay someone Portuguese to do the research for you 

Quite useful also to visit the Government Department involved in doing the inspecting and ask their advice - that always makes them feel good you get to find out everything.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

If you are dealing with food in any shape or form here in Portugal you will become involved with HEALTH & SAFETY and it is a minefield!!!!


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

siobhanwf said:


> If you are dealing with food in any shape or form here in Portugal you will become involved with HEALTH & SAFETY and it is a minefield!!!!


It sure is, just as an example everything in the vehicle has to be labelled with the ingredients in Portuguese. Everything has to be listed on a 'guia de remessa' which is basically an inventory, prepared for every journey. Goods must be invoiced to where they are being delivered to and a copy of the invoice available for fiscal inspection. 

Storage temperature logs have to be taken, different food groups must be separated into compartments. (meat, fish, confectionery), Date info must be checked and you will be fined for ANY infringement they can find and the vehicle impounded until the fine is paid.

We had a fleet of these things and I think got to visit every Police station in the Algarve over a period of several years to pay fines and get drivers released !

Whatever you are going to be doing had better be very profitable !!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Check out the ASAE site their the enforcers ASAE get proffessional advice before investing

It's not just Health & Safety but transport and paperwork and Fincas as Mr Bife & siobhanwf are saying and only touching on some of issues


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