The cryo-replicator CR1000 has 96 spring-loaded pins and allows the simultaneous sampling of 96 frozen glycerol stocks (-80 ºC) without thawing the remaining glycerol culture. Since the "mother-cultures" remain frozen, their viability (number of CFU's sampled) is not affected by repeated sampling. Per sampling, less than 0.5 µl is removed from each stock culture so that one master plate can be used for several hundreds of times. The pins are 45 mm long and can also be used for the purpose of transferring 96 colonies simultaneously into a deepwell plate containing liquid growth medium.