At a Glance
18 branded Altra sites across a multi-state footprint, with two more being added
Video-verified alarms help distinguish real threats from routine employee activity
Proactive alerts replaced weekly manual camera checks by branch staff
Text alerts with video context help branch leaders know when Verkada has handled an alarm — or when action is needed
Strengthened ATM protection with video-verified alarms, sensor integrations, and faster escalation workflows
Protecting Members, Employees, and Branches Across a Growing Footprint
Founded in 1931 as Trane Employees Credit Union in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Altra Federal Credit Union has grown from a local employee credit union into a member-owned financial cooperative serving over 160,000 members in all 50 states and worldwide. They currently have 18 locations in seven states. Today, Altra’s mission is to create member loyalty by providing products, services, and guidance that help its members, staff, and communities prosper.
For Altra, that mission depends on trust. Across its branch network, the credit union is responsible for protecting members, employees, financial assets, and the physical spaces that support daily banking operations.
“As a credit union, protecting our members’ money is central to what we do,” said Josh Storandt, AVP of Retail Logistics.
Josh has been with Altra for 20 years and has worked across several areas of the credit union. Before moving into his current role, he spent 10 years as a branch manager — experience that gave him a deep understanding of how branches operate, what employees need, and what it takes to lead a facility.
Today, Josh’s team supports the technology side of Altra’s branches, including alarms, video security, access control, and the systems employees rely on every day.
“My job is to make sure our branch teams have the systems and processes they need to serve members effectively,” said Josh.
That operational perspective shapes how Josh thinks about security. The goal is to give branch teams confidence in the systems around them — from alarms and cameras to access control — so they can operate safely and stay focused on serving members.
A Legacy System with Limited Visibility
Before Verkada, Altra’s physical security environment was difficult to manage across its distributed footprint. The credit union had a legacy vendor and a hardware-heavy setup that required ongoing maintenance, but the system was not easy to access, troubleshoot, or scale.
“Our previous environment was difficult to manage at scale,” said Josh. “With a large footprint, getting consistent service and support across all of our locations was always a challenge.”
Maintaining NVRs, DVRs, firmware updates, and other hardware created ongoing operational overhead for branch and operations teams.
“Replacing failed hardware was expensive, but the bigger cost was the time our employees spent keeping everything current,” said Josh. “With the pace of change in technology, staying on top of firmware updates wasn’t easy.”
That maintenance burden was one reason Verkada stood out. With cloud-based management and automatic software and firmware updates, Altra could reduce the manual upkeep required to keep its security systems current across locations.
Remote access was another challenge, especially with Altra’s strict security requirements as a financial institution.
“We didn’t have the ability to check in remotely from a mobile device,” said Josh. “Even with video, we had to log into a PC and go through a VPN just to see what was happening.”
For branch managers, that lack of visibility created uncertainty after hours. They were responsible for protecting branch assets, but they could not easily check whether alarms were set, confirm whether systems were working, or see what was happening when an alarm was triggered.
Why Altra Chose Verkada
Altra was first introduced to Verkada in 2018 through Five Star Telecom, a local partner. At the time, it was not the right moment to move forward, but Five Star stayed engaged and continued to show Altra how Verkada’s platform was evolving.
A few years later, ATM protection became a more urgent priority, and Altra wanted a clearer way to verify alarm activity across its sites.
“We realized we needed better visibility and more confidence that our alarms were set properly,” said Josh. “That’s when Verkada became the right fit for us.”
Altra started with an administrative building in Tyler, Texas. The goal was to prove to senior leadership that Verkada could help protect the credit union’s locations and member assets. The first deployment included cameras, doors, and alarms. Once that site proved successful, Altra began a strategic rollout across its branches.
Strengthening ATM Security with Video-Verified Alarms
ATM security quickly became one of Altra’s most important use cases. But as Josh explained, ATM activity can be difficult to standardize.
“There’s no standard ATM transaction,” said Josh. “Some members complete their transaction right away. Others check their mobile app, move money around, and then use the ATM.”
Because of that variability, Altra focused on an approach that combines alarms, video verification, strobes, horns, and sensor integrations. When an alarm is triggered, the audible deterrent is immediate. But the bigger value is knowing that an event can be reviewed and escalated appropriately.
“What we really liked about Verkada was that the alarm was tied to video, and the video was reviewed by a live agent who could determine whether it was an actual incident,” said Josh.
That verification is especially valuable during routine ATM service, when employees may be working on drive-up ATMs while certain alarm partitions remain armed. Instead of treating every alarm signal the same way, Verkada helps Altra distinguish routine maintenance from activity that requires follow-up.
Altra also uses a mix of Verkada and existing wired sensors on ATMs, including door contacts and tilt sensors that feed back into the Verkada alarm panel. By pairing those sensors with nearby cameras, Altra can connect alarm signals to relevant video and make faster, more informed decisions when an event occurs.
For higher-priority ATM tamper events, Altra’s workflow can quickly notify the right internal teams and, when needed, escalate to law enforcement.
“Verkada gives us the awareness we need to respond quickly,” said Josh. “Even when we’ve seen attempted incidents, we’ve been able to avoid monetary losses.”
From Alarm Signals to Actionable Context
With Altra’s previous system, alarms did not always provide enough visibility into whether a device was working as expected. In some cases, the team did not know there was an issue until after the fact.
With Verkada, Altra can pair sensors with cameras so an alarm signal is supported by video context. The team can also receive notifications when a camera loses connection or when there is a problem with an alarm sensor, panel, battery, or other device — helping them understand both the event and the health of the system behind it.
That proactive alerting has reduced manual work for branch teams. “Before Verkada, branch staff had to check video weekly to make sure cameras were operational,” said Josh. “Now, proactive alerts give us that visibility without the manual process.”
Verkada also changed how Altra receives and acts on alarm notifications. “Before Verkada, alarm notifications came as phone calls from a monitoring center,” said Josh. “If someone didn’t answer, they’d leave a message and continue down the call tree.”
Now, text notifications include video of the alarm trigger and connected camera views, helping teams understand what is happening faster. Just as importantly, Verkada helps filter the noise so branch leaders know whether an event needs their attention.
“If an alarm goes off, Verkada always lets you know if something happens,” said Josh. “Then they let you know if they took care of it or if there was nothing going on.”
For a distributed credit union, that context matters. Branch and market leaders can quickly assess an event, determine whether it requires escalation, and respond with more confidence after hours. Instead of wondering whether a missed call means a real threat, a false alarm, or routine activity, teams can see what happened and understand what action was taken.
With Verkada, branch managers, market managers, and market presidents gained greater visibility into their locations.
“When we installed Verkada, our branch managers, market managers, and market presidents were excited because they finally had better visibility into their locations,” said Josh. “It let them breathe easier.”
Extending Visibility Beyond Intrusion Events
Verkada alerts have also helped Altra respond to issues beyond intrusion events. At the operations building in La Crosse, a water sensor alerted the team to a water main break. Instead of discovering the issue hours or days later, they were notified immediately.
“We only had a few inches of water on the ground, but it could have been much worse,” said Josh. “That’s why it’s so important to have connected systems that send timely, meaningful notifications.”
When IT has needed after-hours access to network equipment, Josh has also been able to remotely disarm the alarm and give the team access to the building late at night.
“That flexibility helps us support the branches without adding unnecessary friction,” said Josh.
A Platform That Brings It All Together
As Altra continues to grow, Verkada gives Josh and his team a more centralized way to manage branch security and operations across sites. The platform brings together alarms, video, access control, alerts, and remote management in a way that is easier for teams to use.
Josh also emphasized the importance of service — both from Verkada and from Five Star Telecom.
“The product is great, but service is real,” said Josh. “The people who show up at our branches, install the equipment, and come out when something needs attention are the ones who make it work.”
For other organizations considering Verkada, Josh’s advice is simple: the platform brings the core pieces of physical security into one accessible, customizable system.
“Verkada brings our cameras, alarms, and doors together in one place,” said Josh. “It’s user-friendly, customizable, and accessible from anywhere.”