FEB. 26–SANFORD, Maine–Atlantic Precision Products Inc., a manufacturer of precision machine parts for the aerospace, semiconductor equipment and medical industries, is closing its plant here, putting several dozen people out of work.

Its parent company, Allied Devices Corp. of Hicksville, N.Y., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.

Department of Labor spokesman Paul Luce told The Kennebec Journal that the plant closure will result in the loss of 72 jobs.

The workers are not likely to stay unemployed for long, some observers said. Precision-metal workers are in short supply in Maine, and employers already have been calling for the names of laid-off workers they could contact.

Still, the announcement is the latest in a spate of bad news for Maine’s manufacturing sector.

Just in the past week, General Electric Power Systems in Bangor said it will cut 45 jobs and lay off another 40 workers; Penobscot Frozen Foods said it will lay off 40 workers for at least two to three weeks; and National Semiconductor said it will eliminate 45 jobs at its South Portland chip fabricating plant.