Sanitary ball valves are opened by turning handles attached to balls inside the valves. The ball has a hole or port through the middle. When the port is in line with both ends of the valve, flow will occur. When the valve is closed, the hole is perpendicular to the ends of the valve, and flow is blocked. A ball valve is durable and usually work to achieve perfect shutoff even after years of disuse. They are therefore an excellent choice for shutoff applications, and are often preferred to globe valves and gate valves for this purpose. Sanitary ball valves are used extensively in industry because they are very versatile, easy to repair, and operate manually or by actuators.