AUGUSTA — The Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership announces that Carl Spang has been elected to its board of directors. Spang brings more than 20 years of manufacturing experience to the board.

Spang serves as president of Falcon Performance Footwear in Auburn, which he purchased with partners in 2007. Falcon has flourished under Spang’s leadership. The company, which traditionally manufactured work boots and traditional footwear, has developed highly-engineered footwear for firefighters throughout North American and expanded into other industrial footwear markets.

Spang has an extensive career in manufacturing. Earlier in his career, he worked for Digital Equipment Co. in a variety of management positions until 1994, when he started the Kestrel Group Inc. Kestrel specialized in ERP selections and implementation, as well as operational management and lean manufacturing.

Spang’s accomplishments have been widely recognized in the business community. He received the 2011 Maine MEP Manufacturer of the Year award, the 2012 Maine International Trade Center’s Innovator of the Year award, and the 2012 Governor’s Award for Business Excellence.

Spang holds a bachelor of arts degree from Boston University and an master of arts degree and a master of business administration degree from the University of New Hampshire.