INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Auto supplier Visteon Corp. is negotiating with a potential buyer who wants to turn its recently closed factory in Connersville into a facility with multiple tenants, a company spokesman said.

 

The buyer is an established developer looking for suitable tenants, said Visteon spokesman Jim Fisher.

 

''We would hope to have something final fairly soon,'' he said, declining to put a time frame on the deal.

 

Michigan-based Visteon stopped production last month at the factory, which produced vehicle heating and cooling systems.

 

Contractors have started moving equipment, and they aim to finish by late spring, Fisher said. Visteon officials hope to have a clear idea by then of the 1.8 million square-foot factory's fate.

 

''We have had a lot of interest in the building, and we've been confident from the beginning that we would be able to find a potential buyer,'' Fisher said.

 

Indiana Economic Development Corp. representatives have talked to several developers about the site, spokesman Mitch Frazier said. Connersville is about 60 miles east of Indianapolis and 13 miles south of Interstate 70. Frazier thinks the factory's proximity to the highway makes it attractive.

 

The factory once employed more than 3,000 people, but that total had dwindled to around 890 when the company announced last February that the factory would close.

 

Work ended for about 300 remaining employees in early December. A few non-salaried employees have stayed to help remove the equipment, which will be sold, scrapped or moved to other Visteon locations.

 

Visteon employs 43,000 people worldwide and makes vehicle electronics and other interior products. The Connersville shutdown is part of a plan to fix, close or sell about 30 sites to make the company more competitive.

 

The company also plans to shut down in April its factory in Bedford, which is about 25 miles south of Bloomington.