Chief Executive Officer
MBA
John Prineas is the Chief Executive Officer of A S Harrison & Co, bringing more than 20 years of executive leadership experience across specialty chemicals manufacturing and distribution businesses throughout Australia, Asia, and the United States.
John has built a reputation for driving transformational growth, business turnarounds, and high-performance team cultures. Throughout his career, he has led complex commercial and operational businesses across a broad range of industries including coatings, ingredients, plastics, crop protection, animal nutrition, water treatment, energy, and industrial chemicals.
A passionate advocate of people development, John believes that sustainable success comes from building capable, collaborative teams and fostering strong relationships with customers, suppliers, and industry partners.
“When exceptional people are aligned behind a clear vision, there is no limit to what they can achieve. Our role as leaders is to create the opportunity, inspiration, and environment for that success to happen.” – John Prineas
Group Chief Financial Officer
BA, MBA, CPA
As Group CFO, Robin leads our Finance and Accounting functions. He has 29 years of experience in finance and supply chain roles across FMCG, Agribusiness, Pharma, Construction, eCommerce and Manufacturing in private and public companies across 3 continents.
Robin has a Bachelors degree in International Commerce from Brown University in Rhode Island, USA and an MBA in International Business from the American Graduate School of International Business in Arizona, USA. He is also a CPA.
In his spare time, Robin is a surf-mad, active husband and father, passionate about supporting his local community in the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
General Manager, Strategic Business
BSc Industrial Chem, MBA, FRACI, CChem, GAICD
With over 40 years’ experience, Phil has worked across all areas of the business since 1995. His expertise includes R&D, product management, logistics and technical sales. Phil holds a BSc in Industrial Chemistry, an MBA, is a chartered chemist, a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and a Graduate from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His role covers several areas of the business including our strategic relationships with channel partners.
Phil enjoys crossword puzzles and various outdoor activities. He believes that success in business comes from doing what you enjoy and doing it well.
Chief Operating Officer
BEng in Chemistry
Nick manages the Strategic Business Centre that includes planning, customer service, purchasing, logistics, quality and compliance, project management and laboratory functions. He has gained over 25 years’ experience in supply chain and operations across various disciplines like FMCG, Personal Products, Pharmaceuticals, Industrial and Specialty Chemicals. Nick graduated from Sydney University with BEng Chem.
In his spare time Nick enjoys spending time with family and occasionally sampling craft beer which he also attempts to brew at home! Nick’s favourite quote is “The only constant in life is change”.
General Manager, Performance Chemicals
BE Chemical Engineering, MBA
Thomas oversees the sales and distribution of the Performance Chemicals portfolio across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
He has over 10 years of experience in commercial and operational roles across lubricants, fuels, mining, and manufacturing. Thomas has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Sydney and an MBA from Macquarie University. He is also an active Board Member of the Australian Lubricants Association.
In his spare time, Thomas enjoys bushwalking, mountain biking, and spending time in his garden growing fresh produce to use in his cooking. He believes there is always something to learn from everyone you meet and that often the best solution to a problem is in someone else’s mind.
General Manager, Food & Nutrition
With over two decades of experience in the food industry, Mike has established himself as a leader in food and nutrition innovation.
Now heading up the Food & Nutrition division at A S Harrison, Mike is passionate about the sports nutrition sector, bringing functional, high-quality ingredients to market. His career has been driven by a commitment to product development, from exploring next-generation proteins and fibres for weight management to onboarding global manufacturing partners and introducing them to new markets across ANZ.
Whether driving commercial strategy or developing cutting-edge concepts, Mike is dedicated to advancing the food and nutrition industry while empowering his team.
General Manager, Personal & Home Care
Yash is an experienced commercial leader in the specialty ingredients and chemicals industry, currently serving as General Manager – Personal & Home Care.
With a strong background in business development, strategic growth, supplier management, and customer engagement, he is passionate about bringing innovative ingredient solutions to market and building high-performing partnerships across the value chain.
Outside of work, Yash is an avid Formula 1 fan and motorbike enthusiast.
Group Business Technology Manager
Rob manages Group Business Technology, including ICT, Projects and Processes. He has close to 20 years of experience supporting the technical needs of businesses across FMCG, Pharma and Manufacturing. Rob graduated from Technological University Dublin with a BSc in Information Technology and achieved his PMP certification in 2011.
In his spare time, Rob enjoys spending time with his family and playing and watching soccer. His favourite quote is, “The most dangerous phrase in business is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.'”
General Manager, Organisational Development
BCom, MAHRI, LDP
Rob has been with the company for over 5 years and has extensive Human Resource experience across a range of sectors. Rob holds a BCom, MAHRI, LDP from Sydney University and was a finalist in the 2020 & 2021 HR Manager of the Year for Australia and awarded “Australian Employer of Choice” 2020 & 2021.
In his spare time, Rob likes to spend time with his family, and explore the great outdoors of Australia. Robs favourite quote is “Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.”
Product and customer insights
CHALLENGE A 40-hectare raw water storage dam had persistent issues with blue-green algae (BGA) blooms, leading to taste and odor problems. Despite the presence of an aeration system to address water stratification and mixing, BGA counts remained seasonally high, particularly in summer and autumn. Upgraded aeration in 2018 did not resolve the issue, leaving the […]
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulation, known as IMO 2020 was the the largest change in regulation relating to marine fuels impacting 75% of the fuel used by the shipping industry.
CHALLENGE A power plant relying on ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) faced a critical operational challenge. A wastewater treatment upset severely fouled the UF system, drastically reducing water production. Despite multiple cleaning attempts with sodium hypochlorite and citric acid, transmembrane pressure (TMP) remained high, and flux showed no improvement. The plant’s inability to meet […]
Keeping drilling costs low using Redi-Guard™ High Performance, an ecologically friendly drilling fluid technology with revolutionary rheological and shale encapsulation properties
CHALLENGE A municipal water reuse plant processing 8 million gallons per day (MGD) experienced severe fouling and scaling issues, including calcium phosphate and silica deposits. With steep feed pressure increases and differential pressures in both stages, the plant required frequent cleanings every 4 to 6 weeks, amounting to 32 cleanings annually. Each cleaning cycle resulted […]
The plant was experiencing weekly shutdowns for fiber clean up (~ 3 kg bags of matted slurry is cleaned per week). The shut downs were costly as they reduce plant availability for production.
CHALLENGE A municipal reverse osmosis (RO) plant on Florida’s west coast, with a 20 MGD capacity, faced high operational costs due to its reliance on 93% sulfuric acid for pH adjustment. The plant used a combination of a brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) membranes and fiberglass-wrapped membranes across 10 trains, each operating at 75% recovery. […]
CHALLENGE A gold processing plant in New Zealand sought to improve gold recovery efficiency while addressing high Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels. Elevated TOC increased the Preg-Robbing Factor (PRF), reducing the plant’s ability to efficiently recover gold during the Carbon-In-Leach (CIL) process. The traditional use of kerosene as a carbon blanking agent offered limited efficacy, […]
CHALLENGE A municipal reverse osmosis (RO) plant, with a capacity of 2 million gallons per day (MGD), faced frequent system cleanings, every 2-4 months, due to rising feed pressure. The plant, which sources water from brackish wells and uses Toray TMG-20D-400 membranes in a (16×7) -> (8×7) train configuration, was operating at 78% recovery. Despite […]
Research indicates that Sea Buckthorn may be able to strengthen the immune system. One in vitro study focused on the possible immunomodulatory properties of Sea Buckthorn.
AWC A-110 effectively inhibited scale at a dosage of 3.5 ppm and an operating pH of 6.9. This increase in operating pH reduced the district’s annual acid consumption by ~$350K per year based on their current production.
MCI® -2020 V/O and ChemMaster’s Colorsil were chosen to repair and protect the walls based on their 20 year warranties and the fact that together they could fulfill the other specified repair design requirements.
Despite numerous cleanings, the productivity of the Reverse Osmosis plant would not recover from severe membrane fouling. The membrane autopsy revealed that the ferric hydroxide was seeding
silica polymerization and that even while the ferric hydroxide was removed, the silica scaling was continuing to grow.
The East Hokkaido region is known to have the highest volume of potato product in Japan. Unfortunately, a potato farmer in the area was experiencing a high rate of potato scab infection in his agricultural field.
A S Harrison & Co is committed to providing the highest level of customer service. Please drop us a line and we will get back to you soon.