Business Notebook
Local & State
Coast
Casino boat out of business
LITTLE RIVER One of two casino boats operating out of Little River, SunCruz Casion, stopped operations Monday. SunCruz, which had about 200 employees, took passengers into international waters to gamble.
A message on the SunCruz telephone line thanks customers for their support and directs them to the Big M, Little River’s other casino boat. There was no explanation for the shutdown. But SunCruz had been involved in a legal fight with Horry County for two years over a $7 per passenger fee the county had imposed on the boat.
Horry County Council chairman Mark Lazarus said the county and SunCruz had been negotiating a settlement of debt. The amount the company owed the county has not been released. It’s not certain the amount has been determined because county officials say they have not seen any of the boat’s records on the number of passengers each night. The fee had been imposed in 2011.
SpecChem bringing S.C. 50 jobs
A company that makes chemicals used in the concrete industry is opening a new plant in Dorchester County. SpecChem plans to invest more than $5 million and create 50 new jobs.
SpecChem makes curing agents and hardeners, grouts and bonding agents. The company has acquired a facility in Harleyville and plans to begin manufacturing operations this fall.
New family amusement park proposed
A Tennessee company is bidding to open a new family amusement park on the site of the Myrtle Beach Shrine Club. The park would include an elevated go-kart track, bumper boats, a small train, an arcade and shop and a Ferris wheel, said Allison Hardin, planner for the city of Myrtle Beach. Eventually, the company hopes to open additional attractions that are geared to the Intracoastal Waterway, which the property abuts, according to a proposal it has submitted with Myrtle Beach.
The company will lease the land from the Shriners that stretches between U.S. 17 and the Intracoastal Waterway at the south end of Restaurant Row. The development would be done in three phases, with the first to be completed by June 15, 2016, the second Dec. 31, 2016 and the third Dec. 31, 2020, according to the planning document.
The first phase would include a commercial building; the second, amusement uses; and the third, improvements along the waterway. The Track has been open 30 years in Pigeon Forge and 20 years ago in Destin, Fla. The new park must be approved by Myrtle Beach’s Community Appearance Board.
Nation & World
Beef-processing plant to close
Cargill plans to close a Milwaukee beef-processing plant which employs about 600 people on Friday due to a shortage of cattle.
A Midwest drought in 2011 and 2012 hurt cattle levels, said Cargill spokesman Mike Martin. Now, many herders are breading the cattle they have and not selling them. U.S. beef cattle herd is at its lowest level since 1951, Cargill said.
The Milwaukee plant slaughters live cattle and packages beef products. The meat producer bought the plant, Brief headline goes here
The Associated Press and The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News contributed.
This story was originally published July 31, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Business Notebook."