Council approves 10-year tax abatement for Royal Oak Enterprises; company says it will double workforce

The Greenville City Council voted to authorize a 10-year tax abatement for Royal Oak Enterprises’ planned expansion at 6202 Industrial Boulevard and closed the public hearing with no speakers in opposition.

Greg Sims, representing Greenville Board Development, presented the project and the proposed abatement. He said the company seeks a 50% tax abatement that would start January 1, 2027, and asked the council to approve the measure that the board had unanimously recommended. “They want to add additional workers to that for a total of a 107 over a 3 year period,” Sims said. Area director Russ Sims, representing the company’s corporate office, told council members the company plans to consolidate operations into Greenville to run multiple shifts and expand production lines.

Sims cited tax-roll figures for the site’s existing investments; in the transcript he referred to land improvement value and machinery and equipment values as recorded on the tax rolls and stated machinery and equipment at 6,714,840. The presenters described the site as rail-served and said the company manufactures Pine Mountain fire logs, charcoal and related products.

After asking for public comment and receiving none, a council member moved to approve the ordinance, a second was recorded and the council voted to approve the abatement; the clerk recorded the motion as passing unanimously with two members absent. The agreement before council would allow the company to realize the abatement beginning in 2027, while the city’s reinvestment zone and board recommended approval.

Council members did not record additional conditions in the meeting’s public discussion. The council did not receive public testimony in opposition during the hearing; staff said follow-up on implementation would proceed through the city’s normal contract and tax-abatement administration processes.