The thing about shears is that most 1/2" shears are built to be bullet proof, so gorillas can run 1/2" plate thru them every day for decades, loading with a forklift or a crane. So they are seldom elegant, user friendly, and state of the art.
No more Niagaras, but you can still buy a brand new Cinncinnati. A 12' x 1/4" mechanical is around a hundred and a quarter- $125,000. A 1/2" hydraulic, new, is probably twice that. Built to last, but not in the category with a Deckel.
Amada makes very nice, high tech but durable shears, but I am pretty sure they top out at 1/4" capacity.
Warcom, in Brescia, makes some nice looking machines-
Guillotine shears - Prima Product Catalog
and I am sure there are german and scandinavian machines as well- but I would guess at pricing north of the Cinncinnati- that is, a 10' by 1/2" is probably well over $200k.
If you look on euro used machinery sites, though, you see a lot of Amada and Adira machines.
Check here- to see some nicer machines than you often see in the states.
Guillotine Shears (Hydraulic)
Used Shears, Universal Punching machines, Cutting-to-length machines & Clitting lines, Lockformers & Metal band sawing machines machinery, second hand Shears, Universal Punching machines, Cutting-to-length machines & Clitting lines, Lockformers & Metal band sawing machines - APT International
LVD, which owns Strippit, makes some decent looking machines, popular in Europe.
MVS Shears | Shearing machines | LVD Group
bunch of used german machines here.
▷ Plate shears - hydr. 5-7mm plate thickness Buy used on Machineseeker.com