Nestle Canada has announced it is investing US$51.5 million in its London (Ontario) factory to not only expand its existing product lines, but also its physical footprint by 9,000 square feet.

The plant on Wilton Grove Road, London has been in use for fifty-two years and the cash will be used to expand its production capabilities.

The company believes that the investment will help the company continue to innovate and bring new products to the market. It will allow the plant to hire 12 new full-time positions, and convert 45 part-time seasonal positions to full time.

In total, the plant currently employs between 700 and 750 people. Roughly 300 of those workers are full time and 50 are salaried.

Nestle Canada is in the midst of a multi-phase project, focusing both on existing product lines and new options.

Plant manager Arthur Van Raalte said the expansion would involve four parts. The first will focus on producing tubs of Häagen-Dazs. The second will add a Drumstick line. The third involves technical improvements. The fourth and final phase is a 9,000-square-foot addition to the factory for the Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar line.

Van Raalte said the expansion work began in January and the line should be up and running by the end of 2018.

“We want to get a strong, new foundation for people to work for another 52 years,” said Van Raalte in a nod to the factory’s history in the city.

“We work very closely with dairy farmers. We’re proud of our connections to them and proud of them and the role that they play in delivering our great products.”

The products made at Nestle’s London factory are distributed across Canada.

The expansion was made possible through a US$390,000 grant from the provincial governments Southwest Development Fund.