Planning to watch Sunday's Super Bowl? You'll likely see some homegrown Traverse City talent on display. Giant banners, building wraps, and signs on display in Indianapolis for the Big Game were made right here at Britten in Traverse City. The company's experienced in printing and installing hundreds of giant statements at events nationwide, and its national network of installers has pulled off some major projects. But sometimes, jobs are too challenging even for Britten and their equipment.

They call themselves the “Britten Extreme Team,” and they’re reaching new heights for business. Their mission is to rappel down multi-story buildings and hang banners for their clients.

“We have a specialty lift that’s able to reach 85 feet in a mall property,” explains Britten’s Vice President Dale Troppman, discussing a recent installation at Pentagon City Mall in metropolitan Washington DC.

"But that just wasn’t high enough to get to the side of a three story escalator. Instead we had to hire a gentleman to go over the side in a bosun’s chair” (a chair held in the air using ropes).

In Salt Lake City, Britten hired a group of window washers to get the job done on a 10-story building.

In an effort to take things in-house and cut expenses, Britten has created its own "Britten Extreme Team," a group trained to literally jump and repel off tall buildings to do large installations.

This week, the team got its official training, thanks to True Adventure Sports from Alabama, which paid a visit to Traverse City.

“We sent out a note asking for volunteers to go through the training program,” says Troppman. “We had a full roster in less than 60 minutes.”

Regional Operations Manager AJ Witthoeft was one of the first to sign up.

“I love the adventure, and I’m not afraid of heights.”

The team crammed 40 hours of training into three long days.

After classroom training on knots and safety at Britten's headquarters, the team headed to the State Theatre in downtown TC to test their skills. The objective: jump off the back of the building, change bungees and ties on the giant banner Britten installed a few years back, and land safely.

Installer Andrew Adams accepted the challenge. “I was ready. I actually wanted to be first down the wall.”

Mission accomplished all-around. The State Theatre "jump" was a success, and the team is now undergoing their final certificate testing (all members must get a 100 percent score on a knot exam and rappelling test).

To watch the Britten Extreme Team in training, click on the video at top left.