Nestle Canada announced plans for an expansion that will create 12 new jobs in London as well as 45 seasonal jobs, which will become full time, the company said.

The news was announced Friday with the company saying it’s a $51.5 million expansion to increase production capabilities at its London ice cream factory on Wilton Grove Road.

The factory supplies the country with brands like Hӓagen-Dazs, Parlour and Drumstick and has seen increased growth within the category, which has resulted in greater production demands, the company said.

Nestle received $390,000 in funding from the South Western Ontario Development Fund for an early phase of the investment, which enhanced the cleaning technology for each individual production line, a step that was essential to the success of the expansion

We are really proud to be a part of the London community and excited to be making this significant investment," said Jayne Payette, Business Executive Officer, Ice Cream at Nestlé Canada.

"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."

The latest expansion includes 9,000 square feet to create more capacity for future growth of Hӓagen-Dazs and other popular products.

Groundwork has already begun with production planned in early 2019.