Harvey Building Products, a distribution firm and window maker with a network of showrooms and supply centers from New England to the Mid-Atlantic, is boosting its training and embracing green as a way to help contractors take full advantage of the coming recovery. CEO Erik Jarnryd says its time for contractors to be proactive.

QR | Your firm plans to conduct 11 trade shows in places like Boston’s Gillette Stadium in 2010 with up to 2,000 contractors attending each day. You are also boosting your training at all of your locations. Why are you doing it?

Jarnryd | We think that some of our customers have gotten a little bit careful, a little bit conservative because of the slowdown over the last three or four years. In some cases, they have cut back on marketing and other expenses. We think it is time for them to step up their game. First of all, they have to relaunch their marketing in time for the recovery. And if you are going to the expense of relaunching your marketing, what better way to do it than to add a new edge to what you do? I think they need to consider taking a look at the new products that we and other distributors carry. They need to take a look at metal roofing and fiber cement and a host of green products.

But they also need to get trained. We do a lot of training with contractors. We are asking our customers to step up and come back in and get back to basics. They need to relearn how to run a business for a recovery — and while they are doing that, become more innovative as well.

QR | Green building and remodeling is not new. Why is it different this time?