Nestlé Canada, Canada, shared expansion plans for its $51.5 million investment to increase production capabilities at its London, Ontario, Canada, ice cream factory on Wilton Grove Road.

The factory, which supplies all of Canada with brands like Hӓagen-Dazs, Parlour and Drumstick, has experienced increased growth. The investment will help the company continue to innovate and bring new products to market.

“We are really proud to be a part of the London community and excited to be making this significant investment,” says Jayne Payette, business executive officer, ice cream. “Our employees work hard every day to bring these great made-in-Canada brands to our consumers, and this investment allows us to bring even more exciting and innovative products to market.”

An early phase of the investment includes enhanced cleaning technology for each individual production line, a step that was essential to the success of the expansion.

In addition to creating an additional 12 new job opportunities at the factory, 45 jobs will move from seasonal part-time employment to full-time positions. As well, this expansion project and the resulting production will increase ingredient, packaging and raw material supplier purchases.

Expansion on the London facility began in early 2016 with reconfiguration and consolidation of production lines to increase capacity and flexibility for Hӓagen-Dazs. The second phase saw the addition of a second Drumstick line to further meet ever-increasing demand. The third phase helped to modernize the existing processes to allow for greater flexibility within the production lines.

The latest expansion includes an increase to the factory’s current footprint by 9,000 square feet to create more capacity for future growth of Hӓagen-Dazs and other products. Production is planned to begin in early 2019.