LEWISTON - The Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council Board of Directors recently elected Alan Hahnel, president of Lewiston-based Hahnel Brothers Co., to serve as its chairman.

Hahnel has been president of Hahnel Brothers since 1995. During his tenure as president, sales have increased from $5 million to $16 million, in part through technological advancements. An engineer who started with the company in 1981, he introduced plasma-cutting technologies as vice president of the sheet metal department from 1988 to 1995.

A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Hahnel serves on a number of boards and committees, and has served on the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council board since 2005.

The LAEGC board also elected to one-year terms: Peter Garcia as vice chairman, Gerry Dennison as treasurer and Laurent F. Gilbert Sr. as secretary.

In addition, the board elected two new directors: Dan Thayer, president of Thayer Corp., and Rick Vail, president of Mechanics Savings Bank. Peter Chalke, Gene Geiger, Dennison and Hahnel were re-elected to serve on the board until 2011.

The board also re-elected the following members of the Loan Committee to serve until 2011: Marcel Bilodeau, John Belisle, John Clifford IV, Richard Hebert, Thomas Ouellette and Ed Snook.